Buried Beneath the Cherry Tree
by LeviathanoftheSky
Summary: "I've waited over a century for you to return, and you don't even remember me." How could a demon fall in love with something as fleeting as a human? A samurai, to note. It was laughable, yet he could not bring himself to smile. Tsugaru/Izaya Shizuo/Izaya
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Durarara! I don't own thee!

Warnings: Rated for violence and sexual implications. And Izaya or Shizuo's occasional potty mouth.

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><p>The city of Ikebukuro lay in quiet slumber before him, the distant call of the last train the only sound atop this empty rooftop bathed in moonlight. He had situated himself quite comfortably on the edge of the gateless wall, the drop into darkness below not even worth blinking at.<p>

The sound of metal suddenly clanged in the alley, probably made by some cat scavenging for food, or, better yet, one of the many lesser gang members lashing out at trash can out of frustration for one reason or another. Voices followed suit, indicating the latter, and a soft brief flicker shone from the darkness as one of the humans below lit a cigarette.

He paid none of these distractions any mind.

What captured his attention this night was not a human, but the full moon above him, shining unobstructed through a clear sky; a sight quite rare these days with all the pollution that had blanketed Edo over the century. He let out the breath he had been holding in and watched as the steam dissipated into the cold winter air.

Izaya drew his coat closer, the moon still reflecting off his blood red orbs.

"Same moon, Tsugaru…" he whispered as he closed his eyes.

.

Late Tokugawa Period, 1867. August.

The forest suddenly exploded around him as yells and the clangs of metal on metal and flesh woke him from his previously peaceful nap. Izaya sat up slowly from his place under his favorite sakura tree, glaring through the moon bathed clearing to the trees opposite him. Just as he decided to hop into the branches above him to escape any further annoyances, the fighting broke through the bushes, and water from the small stream between him and them splashed onto the banks as one of the men ran across it.

The samurai, clothed in a flowing blue haori lined with a snow-like pattern, turned to face his attackers, pointing his katana at the five men who had followed suit.

"End of the line, trash," one of the men smirked, his cruel eyes following the samurai's every move.

"Where are all your Western friends now?" another taunted. The samurai remained silent, not betraying any movement to his opponents.

Izaya blinked, realizing for the first time that the one in front of him had light blond hair messily tied in a ponytail, and he was definitely a little tall for a normal Japanese man. He thought the moon had been playing tricks on his eyes, and the realization brought a grin to his face.

'_A Westerner, huh?'_ This was too good of an opportunity to pass off. He had never had a decent conversation with one of _them _before. It was difficult enough to talk with a human of his native country without getting a katana swung at him, and every Westerner he had met before had a _gun_. Swords he could handle but little projectiles whizzing all over the place, not to mention the deafening roar when the blasted instrument went off, he could not take. What made it even worse was that now the things were getting imported to Japan in massive quantities, and he had been on the verge of giving up bothering with humans all together.

However, back to his present situation, the five before the samurai didn't seem to have any guns, and this pleased him a great deal. _'Hm…'_ He stood up lazily, the extra long sleeves of his kimono draping over his hands, covering his claws, not that it was any help for the rest of his appearance, but he threw caution to the wind as he took a step forward.

"Huh? Who's there?" One of the men had noticed the movement behind the samurai.

"Who indeed?" Izaya returned as he walked out of the shadow of the sakura tree. The two horns on his forehead shone clearly enough under the moonlight, and if that weren't enough, his pointed ears and blood red eyes surely gave him away. If not, then these humans were idiots.

"A-a demon!" one the men stuttered and stepped back.

"Not all idiots I see." Izaya smiled lazily at them, daring them to run. As he predicted, one sprang forward, all sanity lost to fear. Just as the demon lifted an arm to do his dirty work, the man fell down before him, and the samurai pulled his sword out, returning to a defensive position.

"Your opponent is me," the samurai said, his voice like a shallow creek, fluid and calm. Izaya had never quiet heard such a serene human voice before; the ones that graced his ears the past years only held fear-dipped hatred for his kind. This new experience proved quite refreshing.

The corner's of the demon's mouth rose some more. "You stole my kill," he told the samurai, but the other seemed to ignore him and continue to concentrate his attention on the remaining four men.

Three of them sprang and swords clashed as the samurai expertly held all of them off, maiming the first to reach him in the process. Izaya watched in utter fascination at the display until he noticed that the fourth man in the side had produced a pistol. The demon was on him in a flash.

"Who gave you permission to kill my toy?" he growled as the man gave a yell and attempted to fire. Izaya swatted the weapon away and drove his claws into the man's chest, cutting straight through the ribs to the back as he ripped out his victim's beating heart. He let go of the warm object and drew back, the blood that covered his arm up to the elbow now staining his sleeve. "Great, I have to wash this again…" he muttered.

"Monster!" he heard a click and looked up in time to see that the maimed man had grabbed the pistol and had it aimed at him.

"Tch…" Izaya sprang at him but felt his shoulder explode in pain just before he struck down his attacker. Hissing at the burning, he jumped back and dug into his wound, finding the cursed piece of metal embedded into his shoulder blade. "Shit…" He dug deeper and finally caught the bullet between his claws and ripped the entire thing out, tossing it furiously to the side. _'Damned guns_…'

His shoulder burned as he felt the wound close up on its own, and he looked up the see the samurai pulling his sword out of the remaining man. The foreigner looked over to Izaya and seemed to consider for a moment before making his way over.

"Wonderful…" Izaya muttered under his breath when the samurai was finally in front of him. He saw pale blue eyes that ran as deep as the skies on a clear day. _'Truly a foreigner, huh?'_ Izaya gave him a smirk. "Going to kill a defenseless demon?" he scoffed, feeling the remainder of his wound close under his bloodied hand.

To his surprise, the samurai slowly sheathed his sword before offering him a hand. "Huh?"

"Can you stand?" the man asked him.

Izaya stared at the hand with wide eyes before taking it. "You're a weird one," he chuckled as he brushed himself off.

"Same to you," the samurai replied, his speech quiet and brief. "Why did you help me?"

The demon laughed out loud at this, and the other patiently waited until the chuckles subsided. "Are you a foreigner?" He thought the answer was obvious but couldn't help asking.

"Half," the foreigner answered.

"Huh…" he tilted his head to the side. "You have quite the skill with a sword though. I almost thought you were a samurai."

"I am," he answered with conviction.

"But you're a foreigner," Izaya pointed out.

"Half," he corrected again.

"Huh…" Izaya sighed in disappointment. This meant that the samurai didn't know much of those so called western traditions after all. He was rather curious about the world outside of Japan after all, having lived here all his long life. He found himself staring at the other's outstretched hand once again. "What are you doing?"

"Handshake," the samurai answered. "It's how 'Westerners' greet others. You're curious about me, aren't you?"

"Don't be conceited," he replied. He felt his smile widen despite himself as he took the hand anyway. The samurai's grip was strong but just enough to prove it so.

"My name is Tsugaru," the other offered his name.

"Izaya," he returned the gesture. This was going to be interesting.

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><p>Historical Notes: Edo Period = Tokugawa Period. Edo = Tokyo. Throughout the Tokugawa Period, the bakufu kept a strict isolationist policy, so it was rare to meet foreigners inside of Japan save for certain trade ports. America had already "opened" Japan before the time in which this story takes place, so guns were starting to become a common weapon in warfare. However, many samurai still fought with swords, but they were quickly phasing out…<p>

Haha something like that- I hope I didn't make any crazy mistakes.

So I just finished playing Hakuouki, (Yes yes, I procrastinated my midterms like this. It was great.) and I really wanted to write something with samurai in it. And demons. I even drew a messy picture for this story on deviantart (Peek at your own risk! My drawing is very messy.)

Oh, and hello Tsugaru. Welcome back!

Anyways, I hope you'll enjoy this one. It's my first time writing something that takes place in the past. I hope to update… frequently? We'll see. I'm still alive though, so I'll update. (knocks on wood just in case)

Thank you for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Durarara! I don't own thee!

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><p>"I thought I smelled something rotten up here," a low voice growled behind Izaya. The informant stood up slowly and put on his best grin as he turned around to face the Fortissimo of Ikebukuro.<p>

"You really have an amazing nose, Shizu-chan. Truly befitting of a monster," he said, the radiant moon behind him shielding the other from his momentary lapse of control when he felt the grin fall just a little.

"Shut up," the bodyguard spat, tossing his cigarette aside. "I'm going to snap that neck of yours tonight."

"You'll have to catch me first," Izaya nearly sang before he jumped aside to avoid the sign Shizuo had been holding. The brute must have carried it all the way up the stairs from the streets below. He heard glass from the opposite building shatter from the impact, and he finally managed to regain his composure. "Monster…" he mouthed before Shizuo leapt at him.

Laughing, Izaya jumped across the gap to the adjacent building, landing nimbly on the concrete before he took flight. He sighed when he heard the other roar behind him and follow suit.

"You always do find me, without fail…" He pulled out his switchblade.

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Late Tokugawa Period, 1867. October.

Izaya perked up when he heard the leaves rustle, and he jumped to his feet, eyes shining just like an excited child's as Tsugaru once again emerged from the bushes. This time, the samurai carried a neatly wrapped bottle and a bag that clinked slightly as he walked.

"Izaya-san," the samurai nodded to the demon. He hopped across the stream to where the other waited, his blue haori fluttering behind him. Izaya always wondered why the other would wear something so bright; it certainly made him an easy target.

"What did you bring this time?" the demon inquired, trying very hard to not sound eager, but his enthusiasm did not escape the other's notice.

"Sake," Tsugaru replied, an amused smile lighting up his face.

"Oh! That drink that causes perfectly reasonable humans to make complete fools of themselves," Izaya said, nodding as Tsugaru sat down, his back almost against the sakura tree.

"Does that mean you don't want to try it?"

"H-hey! I never said that!" Izaya stuttered as Tsugaru chuckled quietly and produced two small cups from the bag. He never expected that the quiet samurai he had saved just a few months ago would have even have a sense of humor, but the other seemed to enjoy teasing him on occasion. He had already branded the samurai as 'strange' though, so it wasn't too surprising whenever Tsugaru cracked a light joke at his expense. "These are sake cups?" the demon asked, peering at the pieces of ceramic.

The samurai nodded and handed him one. "If you want, you can keep it."

"Can I?" The spark that flashed across Izaya's face reminded him of the children back in Kyoto that he had offered candy to. He nodded and poured the other a generous amount of alcohol, much different than candy, he noted.

Izaya sniffed its contents curiously before peering into to the cup at the clear fragrant liquid.

"You haven't tried alcohol before?"

"It's not that I haven't tried it…" He took a small sip, feeling the sake lightly trail down his throat. "Hm… tastes a little better than that other time."

Tsugaru looked up from his own cup. "Oh?"

Izaya shrugged. "I was curious, so I snatched a bottle from Shimabara. I figured they'd be too drunk to notice, but then one of the geisha saw me, and I only got in one sip." He grinned. "It was quite funny though. They were just wobbling everywhere trying to catch me."

"They do get quite rowdy sometimes." Tsugaru drank slowly, savoring the flavor. He wondered if he should've brought something to eat too, since one gets easily drunk on an empty stomach, but a demon's capacity should be much greater than a human's, or so he assumed.

On the other hand, Izaya drank quickly, managing to down a few more cups of the sake within minutes, as if he were determined to finish the bottle before Tsugaru left. After his fourth cup, the samurai finally raised a hand to calm him down.

"There's no need to drink so fast."

The genuine look of confusion on the other's face almost made him laugh. "Isn't this how you're supposed to drink it?" Izaya asked him.

"There's really no 'right' way to drink, if that is what you mean. Some drink slowly to savor the flavor. Others drink fast to show off."

"Oh." Izaya took a tiny sip from his next cup, but Tsugaru suddenly noticed the red blush that had already fallen over the other's face. "It makes me really warm," the demon commented, and a cool autumn breeze seemed to answer him when it suddenly flowed through the area.

"It's a nice feeling, huh?" The samurai closed his eyes, enjoying the sereneness of the day and the sake that had slowly worked its way into his body. Kyoto was too bustling these days; he had nearly forgotten how peaceful things could be. He felt something heavy on his lap and opened his eyes only to see that the demon had decided to use him as a pillow, the sake cup empty once again in his hand.

"Are you drunk?" Tsugaru asked.

"Me, drunk? Impossible," Izaya answered from his lap as he peered upward into the sakura tree, its green leaves shielding them from the sun's rays. He sighed deeply, eyes half-lidded. "Hm…"

"What's wrong?"

"Just wondering how'd you look right now if was spring. This tree drops tons of petals."

Tsugaru frowned slightly. "I wouldn't look any different."

"No, everyone looks different under sakura trees."

Tsugaru pondered this statement for a while. "You must really love them," he finally said.

"Just this one." Izaya closed his eyes. "My home has lots of sakura trees, just as large as this one…" his voice trailed off and the fingers holding the sake cup opened slightly.

"Izaya-san?" Tsugaru called to him, but the demon was asleep. He sighed and allowed the other to relax; it wasn't the first time the demon fell asleep during his visit. Normally, he'd leave, but this time, that was impossible lest he rouse the other from his nap. The samurai leaned against the tree instead, thinking about the past few months and their first meeting.

"_You want to thank me?" The incredulous look on the demon's face made him wonder if the other was even a demon at all; he had way too many normal emotions. Then, Izaya smiled, and he almost regretted offering. He inwardly shook his head. No, he had to repay this demon who had helped him. _

"_Once a week, until the first snow falls this year," Izaya finally decided on something, "visit me here."_

_Tsugaru knew his confusion had spread to his face now._

"_Oh, and it'll be great if you could bring something small from Kyoto each time, like a… what do you call those… a cracker."_

"_You mean food?"_

_Izaya nodded, the grin and excitement apparent on his face. "Just for a few months, right? It shouldn't be hard for a noble samurai like you. Oh, and if you can manage…" The hopeful look on the other's face reminded Tsugaru even more of the other's naiveté, "maybe something Western every now and then too? Or a story…"_

The demon was just like a child, nothing like the stories he had been told of their kind. True, Izaya was capable of murdering without any remorse, but he didn't do it for fun, and he certainly didn't go around eating people like the infamous Shuten Douji.

He was just trying to… Tsugaru sighed. He needed to stop rationalizing to himself.

'_One day… the others will find out about him…'_ And then Izaya will be hunted down, and as a samurai, protector of the people, he would have to hunt down the demon alongside his comrades.

"You should return home," he muttered.

"Can't…" Izaya replied lazily, but he kept his eyes closed. "I'm too curious for my own good. I can't stay away from you humans. It was driving my mother crazy."

"Your mother?" He couldn't even begin to picture a female version of Izaya; the one he had on his lap was already enough on his hands.

"Scary woman. She said not to return until I've satisfied my curiosity." He laughed lightly. "I've been trying very hard, but it's just not subsiding. There's always something new, something interesting_…_" He yawned. "You samurai must have a very strong sense of honor, going so far as to humor a demon that saved you once."

Tsugaru chuckled lightly at this, and Izaya suddenly found a small tinge of bitterness in the other's voice. "If only all of us could remember what honor is."

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><p>Notes: Shimabara is the courtesan district of Kyoto. In Japanese folklore, Shuten Douji is a oni lord that kidnapped and ate young women until a warrior and his comrades came and defeated him.<p>

Goodbye sweet spring break (sniff).

Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Durarara! I don't own thee!

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><p>Izaya gracefully dodged an uprooted fence before he took a swing at the bodyguard, slashing the other's shirt cleanly across.<p>

"You little…" Shizuo growled, glaring at the informant as he advanced like a predator ready for the final pounce.

"Hm…" Izaya stared at flaring brown orbs, burning passionately for his death. Tsugaru's blue eyes were calm like the ocean, and he could only recall a few occasions when the other actually got angry enough for those perfect orbs to turn to fire. Shizuo-chan's were the complete opposite: all flames and rarely calm. The informant jumped backwards when the bodyguard made to grab him and landed nimbly on the ledge. However just as he straightened himself, a loss of sensation all of a sudden shot through his right leg.

_'Ah, it looks like a month's my limit,'_ he thought sarcastically as he faced the bodyguard. _'But I can't turn back… not out here…'_

"You're going to have to try harder than that," he sang, grinning through the dull pain.

"I'll kill you!" the other roared in response, and Izaya made to leap again when he suddenly felt the rest of his body go numb.

_'Oh shit…'_ He stumbled backwards and gravity instantly took hold him as his legs left the ledge.

"What…" Shizuo gasped, grabbing for the informant on instinct, but he was too slow, and time seemed to still as a flash of red swept past him to the falling man.

.

End of the Tokugawa Bakufu, 1867. November.

"Mother's changed her mind quite quickly."

Tsugaru stopped when he heard the demon's voice through the foliage.

"You must understand, Izaya-sama. Kyoto will become a battlefield," an unfamiliar voice joined Izaya's. The samurai ducked behind the nearest tree and peaked around to see his demon companion speaking with another: a demon, he concluded, judging by the stranger's pointed ears and horns. Unlike Izaya, this one had hair that shone red under the rays of sunlight that peeked through the branches of the sakura tree and horns three times the length of Izaya's.

"If you care so much, why don't you just teach me how to look human then?"

Tsugaru blinked. This was new.

However, the other demon did not seem pleased with the idea. "It's abhorrent for a demon to take the form of a human," he replied quietly. "We only do so to collect information from the outside world."

"But I…" Izaya attempted to protest.

"Yes, we know that you're very talented at obtaining information, Izaya-sama," the other interrupted him, "but how could we possibly let you do the dirty work? It does not fit your stature, not to mention the process itself is dangerous."

"Tch…" Izaya looked away. "Either way," he finally said in a low voice. "I'm not returning with you."

The other demon hesitated. "Is it because you've found a new toy?" he inquired after a moment.

"Toy…" The shorter demon seemed to play with that word on his tongue a little. "He's… different."

"Just because they don't attack you during your first meeting doesn't mean they won't turn on you in the future."

"I know. I know," Izaya said dismissively, scratching his head. "But still…" He seemed to dwell on whatever thought he had at that moment and turned to Tsugaru's direction, eyes directed down at the stream. The gentle flow of water carried red and gold leaves down its path, its tranquil nature opposite of the brewing argument between the two on the shore.

The other finally let out a tired breath, apparently defeated. "There's just no convincing you, like always."

Izaya seemed to relax. "You know how I am."

"Just like your father… He got too close with the humans and they…"

"They betrayed him at the end. As much as you like bringing that up, I must remind you once again that's it not your fault," Izaya finished for him. He rolled something in his hand, and Tsugaru realized it was the sake cup he had brought a month ago. "I want to see, Mamoru. I'm sure there's something more in them then what Mother says."

The red-haired demon called Mamoru stared at him for a long moment. The corners of his lips finally turned up slightly. "I'll tell your mother you won't be returning as of the moment."

"Thanks, Mamoru."

The demon bowed and turned to leave, putting on the bamboo hat as he stepped away from the sakura tree. Mamoru stopped, pulling the hat over his eyes as he turned slightly to Izaya. "Don't you ever miss home?" he asked.

Izaya smiled. "Occasionally. But, you should know, I'm not the type to live in such a boring place."

"Oh I know well enough." The other threw him a smile before disappearing into the woods. "Don't die," his deep voice echoed through the clearing.

Izaya stared for a while in the other's direction before he turned to Tsugaru's tree.

"You didn't need to hide, you know. If Mamoru attacked you, I would've stopped him."

Tsugaru retreated from his hiding place as Izaya took a seat next to the sakura tree, stretching lazily as he watched the other make his way over. The samurai hopped over the stream like usual and approached the demon with light steps.

Izaya smiled, motioning for him to sit with him, and Tsugaru obliged, settling on the dry grass next to the demon. "Surprised at seeing more than one of us running around the woods?" The samurai opened his mouth to speak, but Izaya continued. "Mamoru's one of our information gatherers. He doesn't normally show his demon form to a human, but," he chuckled, "you're pretty good at hiding, Tsugaru."

"Your mother misses you," the other replied, choosing to ignore the comment.

"Yeah, I bet she does." Izaya looked to the river. "It's not like I hate her or anything… but I guess I'm just a naughty son."

"I don't think there's anything wrong with curiosity."

"Tell that to the head of the demon clan whose one child ran off to mingle with humans." He laughed at the other's wide-eyed expression. "Yup, I'm royalty in our world." He bit his lip. "I'd rather I wasn't though. Then I'd be able to run around like Mamoru."

"He cares about your safety."

"He always has… even before Father died."

Izaya absentmindedly kicked a small pebble away towards the stream, the light splash echoing its fate. The leaves around them rustled, and a bird in three whistled to its companions in the woods.

"Tell me a story, Tsugaru," Izaya said, lying down on the samurai's lap. He seemed have developed a habit of it ever since the sake event, and Tsugaru hadn't had the heart to tell him to get off; the other always looked so content. The demon's red eyes were lidded, and a light smile played on his lips as he waited.

"My mother was the daughter of one of the daimyo near Nagoya," Tsugaru found himself saying.

"Heh? So she met your father at the port I take it?"

Tsugaru nodded. "I was told my grandfather was furious, but he allowed my mother and father to live together, away from the eyes of his domain. He sent money every month, and we did quite well for a while."

"Huh… then how'd you become a samurai? Peaceful life, plentiful money…"

The smile he saw above him didn't look happy at all. "I guess because I'm a natural-born killer."

Izaya frowned. "That's not a very good reason."

Tsugaru closed his eyes, his tired sigh making Izaya feel a little uncomfortable. "I killed my first man when I was 10."

"That's quite… young…" The demon was trying, with much difficulty, to determine what the age 10 meant to humans. "What for?"

"Revenge for my parents' deaths. We were visiting Kyoto one day, and some rounin claiming to be Imperialists decided to pick a fight. They got my father first, and mother was killed protecting me." He absentmindedly picked a strand of hair in front of his eyes. "All because we were different." He blinked in surprise when a clawed hand joined his and held the strand to the light.

"Humans tend to like getting rid of things that are different, huh?" Izaya muttered, looking at the gold above him. "Gold hair's quite beautiful on a human though."

"Uh…" He wasn't accustomed to such compliments, and the gesture made the heat go straight up to his face.

Izaya stared at the red that had dusted the other's cheeks up to his ears and lowered his hand. "Are you warm? Should I get up?"

"No, that's not it…" Tsugaru tried to compose himself. "Ah, I mean… I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

Wide red eyes stared back at him. "Ah… yes… So… what kind of hair colors do demons have?" he attempted to change the subject, feeling even stranger now that Izaya had, for the first time since they've met, looked worried.

"Oh, hair color," Izaya closed his eyes, seeming to relax. "It varies. There's red, like Mamoru's, some dark blue, brown, and boring black like mine."

"It's not boring," Tsugaru found himself saying.

"Oh?" Izaya played with a strand of his own hair now. "I guess it's useful for blending in." He chuckled. "Now if Mamoru would only tell me how to hide everything else."

Tsugaru finally asked the question that had bothering him since he saw the two speak earlier. As well as the hat had hid the the other demon's face, sooner or later someone would've been able to see Mamoru's horns, given how tall he was. "You can look human?"

Izaya put a finger to his lips. "Now don't go around telling the others. They'd go crazy if they knew that demons could walk among them undetected." He gave the other a grin before closing his eyes his eyes lazily, the autumn warmth starting to pull his consciousness away.

Tsugaru allowed himself a small sigh and decided to study the other's features under the shadows of the sakura tree. The demon had long eyelashes, he noted, and besides the two short horns and pointed ears, his face looked pretty human. Izaya's hair was silky and traced the outlines of where it touched his kimono closely, flowing like water down to the grass. Tsugaru lifted a strand experimentally, finding it as soft as it looked.

Catching himself, the samurai dropped Izaya's hair as quickly as he had whimsically picked it up, his heard beating quickly. No, it was completely normal, he told himself. Izaya had done the same to him only minutes prior.

He thought about his promise to the demon. Winter was coming soon, and then the two may never meet again. He sighed, realizing that it may be even sooner than that.

"The shogun has given his power back to the emperor," he muttered under his breath, as if he just remembered the occurrence.

"Then the bakufu's enemies will start acting," Izaya continued, his voice almost a sigh.

'_So he knows this much,'_ Tsugaru noted. "Hey, are you sure about staying?" he asked.

His eyes still closed, Izaya's playful grin returned. "Aw, worried about a little old demon like me?"

"Our enemies hate us enough to want every single one of us dead. You won't be any safer from them." He hesitated. "Or us…" he added quietly.

"So you'll be fighting them?"

Tsugaru closed his eyes. "It is my duty to the ones who took me in."

"Duty…" Izaya repeated, his tone melancholic.

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><p>Sorry for the wait! I had a midterm this week bleh.<p>

Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Durarara! I don't own thee!

Note: The site kept on showing a missing link for Chapter 4, so I deleted and reposted it. I hope it works now X.x (So just in case you have this on story alert, I only posted 1 chapter today, not 2.)

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><p>"Izaya-sama!" The red-haired man grabbed the informant's wrist and pulled him back onto the roof with a swift tug. Izaya stumbled into the other's arms, eyes darting about in confusion as the stranger supported his weight.<p>

"Mamoru?" Shizuo heard the informant murmur as he let out the breath he had been holding, his heart still pounding from the sudden burst of adrenaline. He silently glanced down at his hand, outstretched in an attempt to grab Izaya just a moment before.

"Turn back now, please," the newcomer begged the informant, but Izaya brushed him aside and attempted to stand. However, his perseverance gave way, and the informant suddenly collapsed completely, motionless, eyes still partially open as if he were in a trance.

"Izaya-sama!"

"What's going on?" he muttered under his breath. Shizuo had never seen Izaya like this, not even during those rare times he had actually hit his target with a trashcan or street sign. The informant had simply gotten up, a little bruised, and laughed off the pain whenever that happened before continuing the chase.

Izaya's body shuddered and Tsugaru suddenly noticed something very odd about the ailing informant's forehead.

'_Are those… horns?'_ He blinked, but the white protrusions did not disappear and looked even clearer in the moonlight. Shizuo's eyes traveled sideways and pointed ears also rang an alarm that something was off.

He suddenly saw blood red eyes staring at him, much more intense than Izaya's already reddish-brown irises. The pupils were slit like a snake's, but the expression their owner wore felt like a knife through him, and he involuntarily put a hand up to his heart to quell the sudden uneasiness.

"Izaya-san…" the suffix rolled off his tongue smoothly, almost too naturally, but before he could comprehend what he had just said, those lonely eyes vanished as the informant finally gave way and passed out.

The strange man picked up Izaya, pulling the informant's furry hood over his face to conceal the horns and pointed ears. He finally looked at Shizuo, as if noticing him for the first time.

"Izaya-sama needs to rest, so if you would please cease chasing him tonight…"

The man gave him a short bow and then the two of them disappeared, leaving the bodyguard staring dumbfounded at the spot they had been.

_They two of them were standing beneath the sakura tree, its soft pink petals fluttering around them as the spring breeze picked up._

_The other smiled, eyes as beautiful as the blood red sunset rays of the dying sun._

"_Hey… Tsugaru…"_

.

New Year's Eve, 1867. December.

Tsugaru drank silently in the corner as the other occupants of the inn roared happily around him, their sake cups emptied and refilled constantly as the festivities carried on through the night. He knew they drank to forget, but no matter how much alcohol they took in tonight, the fact remained that tomorrow the danger of being attacked loomed above all of them who were still loyal to the shogun.

A man with a straw hat sat at the table opposite him, also strangely silent despite the guffaw around them. He had been staring at him for quite a while now, and Tsugaru felt that it was no coincidence that two quiet drinkers such as themselves happened to be in the same room. He doubted that a spy would be foolish enough to wear a hat in front of everyone indoors like this, but he kept watch just in case.

The hour passed as Tsugaru's comrades downed even more alcohol, and the samurai himself was starting to feel a little relaxed. His eyes trailed absentmindedly to the sake cup, and he turned the object in his hands, enjoying how the clear liquid inside swirled about. He remembered that he had kept his own cup, part of the set of two he had bought for Izaya, in his bag, and he slid the pouch closer to him lest a drunkard fall on it.

"Izaya-san…" he muttered the demon's name under his breath.

The first snow of the season had fallen just a week prior…

_Izaya caught one of the snowflakes in his hand, staring at it expressionlessly as it melted in his palm. Kyoto snow was rare and fleeting, and it surprised both of them that it would fall so early this winter. A white sheet had already blanketed the trees when Tsugaru arrived, and the ice crunched under his geta as he neared the other and the sakura tree, barren of its leaves this cold December day.  
><em>

_The demon turned to Tsugaru, an indiscernible smile on his face._

"_Thank you for fulfilling your promise to me," he finally spoke, his voice soft like the snow that surrounded them._

_Tsugaru opened his mouth to protest, yet he could not find the right words. What was he supposed to say to a demon? That he didn't mind coming again? He closed his mouth. This was the right thing to do, he told himself. He had already paid back what he owed to Izaya for saving his life._

_Izaya turned to the stream, his face now hidden from the samurai's gaze. He touched the bark of the sakura tree, his clawed nails tapping lightly on the surface as his hand made contact._

"_I guess this is goodbye." They both knew that Tsugaru would be fighting soon. The city was almost suffocating under the apprehension._

_Tsugaru hesitated for a split second._

_Yet, he knew what he had to do._

"_Yeah…" he answered quietly and bowed to the demon's back. "Thank you, Izaya-san."_

_He left the clearing slowly, and it took a lot more effort than he thought it would a few months back to not look back._

Tsugaru sighed and shook his head as he downed another cup of sake. There was no reason to feel guilty, he told himself. He had made a promise to Izaya, and he had fulfilled that promise. There was no other reason for the two of them to meet anymore. Since Izaya wasn't threatening the city or his comrades, there was no reason to even mention the demon's name ever again.

_'Yet…'_

The man in front of him suddenly stood up and started walking over, his movements swift and fluid despite the alcohol.

'_Huh?'_ Tsugaru watched him closely, his hand moving down to his katana at his waist, prepared for the worst.

"No need," a deep voice told him, and he relaxed as the man sat down and took off his hat. The hair was still a little red, but there were no signs of horns and his ears were normal and human-like. "I'll have what he has," he told the server near him, and she nodded and hastily fetched him a bottle.

The two stayed in silence until his cup was filled with sake, and he sipped it slowly, enjoying the taste. "This one's strong," the man said approvingly. "Was it the same one you gave to Izaya-sama?"

"He told you?" Tsugaru finally spoke.

Mamoru chuckled. "He was so excited."

The samurai hesitated. "How is he?"

The other's reddish-brown eyes met his. "Same as before he met you, just drifting from human to human, attempting to make contact."

"Can't you help him?"

The man smiled a little sarcastically. "How, may I ask?"

"You managed to make yourself look normal enough," Tsugaru pointed out.

Mamoru laughed. "I'll accept that compliment." He downed another cup, and the samurai began to wonder just how much alcohol demons could take since the other looked exactly the same as before, just a little more jolly. "This method we use… it eats up huge amounts of energy. Izaya-sama's still young for one of us, and his body won't be able to handle staying in this form for too long. Last thing I want to see is him accidentally turning back in the middle of Kyoto."

"So it's easy for you?"

"I've had decades of practice." His eyes seemed to be sizing up Tsugaru carefully, and the samurai couldn't decide whether or not the man thought him a threat or not. "You haven't told anyone about Izaya-sama," he stated.

"Why would I?"

"They always tell…" Mamoru seemed mystified.

"Why is he so interested in us?" Tsugaru found himself asking.

The demon smiled, the nostalgia apparent in his eyes. "His father was the same: endlessly curious."

"Are we that interesting?"

Mamoru chuckled. "Sometimes." He eyed the party around them momentarily. "You, for example, different from all the others, are interesting." He stopped for a moment before hastily downing the rest of his sake directly from the bottle.

"Uh…" Tsugaru wanted to protest; even demons wouldn't be able to handle that much alcohol in one go he assumed.

"My time is up," Mamoru said pleasantly as he stood up and placed the hat back on. "I must rest now."

"Ah, I see." Tsugaru remembered what he said about the spell that made them look human. "Take care."

The demons smiled from under his straw hat. "A very strange one indeed." He leaned back down until he was at eye level with Tsugaru and the samurai saw slit pupils.

"He misses you," Mamoru whispered.

Tsugaru found himself looking away, eyes downcast. "I see…"

"You'll be fighting soon…" Mamoru seemed contemplative. He stood up to leave. "He'll still be waiting at that sakura tree, Tsugaru-san." He gave the samurai a short bow, and then he was gone.

* * *

><p>It's nearing end of semester for me (we end mid-May), so things might start getting a tad hectic. XD I shall try my best! I'll daydream this out during class!<p>

Ah, I'm hungry…

Thanks for reading!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Durarara! I don't own thee!

* * *

><p><em>He saw brown eyes through his swimming vision, wide with worry and lacking any of the hate he had become so accustomed to. The shape of their eyes were identical<em>…<em> it was just the color that threw him off. Tsugaru was never quite fond of his blue eyes though.  
><em>

"_Izaya-sama!" he heard his savior calling his name, but he paid him no mind. _

_The man who looked like Tsugaru said something, but all he could hear was a soft murmur through his dissipating consciousness. The voice was soft, calm like the one that had answered him under that sakura tree a century ago._

_Why can't he remember? He knew, somewhere in his mind, that the very idea of the other regaining Tsugaru's memories after all this time was irrational, yet there was always a chance, always the tiniest spark of hope that he desperately clung to.  
><em>

"_Tsugaru…" he mouthed, but his lips were not listening to him, and he felt his body shudder. The spell was breaking, and he hoped Mamoru had enough common sense to whisk him away.  
><em>

'_Tsugaru…' His vision was fading. He could feel his forehead burn as the horns began growing back._

'_Tsugaru…'  
><em>

'_Why can't you remember me?'_

.

Izaya woke with a start in his own bed, the sound of ripping cloth from his nails running through the sheets a clear indicator that he had turned back. He had grasped them so hard in his slumber that the sudden movement just tore the soft satin apart. The informant slowly touched his forehead, feeling the horns, now twice as long as the time he had met Tsugaru.

"Did he see?" he breathed.

"For a moment," a voice answered him from the doorway. He looked up to see Mamoru, now also in his demon form. Besides the horns, the man hadn't changed at all since the Meiji Period; he hadn't even tried cutting his hair to fit in more with the current culture, although Izaya had seen many who considered long dyed hair stylish on the streets of Ikebukuro. Mamoru walked over to the bed, the worry in his eyes apparent despite his calm tone. "It seems that I was lucky to have chosen this time of the year to visit, Izaya-sama."

Izaya looked away, gritting his teeth as he began to retract his horns. The other stopped him, putting a large hand on his shoulder.

"Please, just rest for today. There is no need to stress yourself when there are no humans present."

"Namie might come back anytime…" Izaya replied even though he highly doubted that would happen. Mamoru had dealt with humans much longer than he had and was certain to have done something about the woman the moment he returned.

"I have already sent her away for a few days," the other demon reassured him, just as he expected him to.

Izaya sighed and let the spell go before falling back down onto his own bed, absentmindedly winding his fingers through the ruined sheets. _'Shizu-chan… he saw…'_

Mamoru sat at the edge of the bed, the frown still apparent on his face. Izaya prepared himself for a scolding and spoke before the other had a chance to. "I just happen to lose track of time. This doesn't happen often."

His attempt at thwarting the oncoming response with a reason for his mistake did not work. "You know your limits, Izaya-sama. Why do you push yourself so? Even at my age, I can only handle a week at a time."

"You know how my job is, and Namie's here everyday so…" To be truthful, he felt secure in his human form, in the form Tsugaru was in. It was weak, yes, but it was comforting.

"At least put aside some time to rest at night. Even a short break will lessen the load."

The demon prince sighed, understanding his own irrationality yet willingly falling into it. "I know… I just…" He stopped there, unable to explain the swarm of emotions that swept through him. He had waited over a century to find his samurai again, and when he did, the first thing the other do was attack him. He was angry, but at the same time, he felt an inexplicable sadness and an ongoing hope that eventually the protozoan would come around.

Eventually.

It was suffocating, the wait, and the dance they executed only got more dangerous every time their eyes met. Izaya knew that one of these days, he might snap completely and accidentally kill the other. It was a miracle that Tsugaru had been reborn this strong, or he would've died during their first encounter. Then again, if the other hadn't been given his monstrous power, perhaps the two would've been able to converse normally.

Maybe they wouldn't even have met. Izaya bit his lip, not accepting that conclusion. Maybe, if he hadn't developed this unnatural love of humanity, they wouldn't be fighting like this. But, it was this curiosity that took him away from home to Kyoto in the first place, so…

The other ruffled his hair, interrupting his tumultuous thoughts. "Just be careful next time. Remember that I have to report everything to your mother."

Izaya chuckled at this. Over a century of disobedience, and his mother still worried about him. "How is she doing?"

"Same as usual."

"You'd think she would've given up on me by now now that she has another son. I already told her I'm not going to take over."

"Your little brother wants to meet you though."

The demon snorted, turning around in his bed until his back was facing the other. "Would Mother even allow that? She should meet Mairu and Kururi."

"She knows about them already."

"Oh, yeah?" Izaya closed his eyes. "They're little monsters… all because of me…"

.

Eve of the Battle of Toba-Fushimi, 1868. January 26.

The rustling of the leaves behind him made him start, and Izaya watched the forest intently for any signs of the trespasser. The number of humans carrying guns had increased a little too fast for him, and he had no desire to encounter one of those blasted pipes again. A branch cracked, and the demon tensed, ready to spring into action, when familiar blue and gold emerged from the bushes.

"Tsugaru?" He blinked several times to make sure his eyes were not deceiving him. _'He came back_…'

"Izaya-san." The samurai nodded and hopped lightly over the stream.

The demon watched him approach, the surprise still apparent on his face as his eyes darted behind Tsugaru for any signs of treachery.

"I came alone," the other reassured him.

Izaya returned his gaze to the samurai, hiding his embarrassment with a frown. "Why?" The perplexity echoed clearly in his voice along with something that sounded like very much like hope.

Tsugaru wondered what exactly the demon was hoping for. "To see you," he answered simply. He nodded to Kyoto's direction and dropped his voice, continuing softly. "We will be fighting tomorrow."

The demon chuckled at this, finally managing to relax. "And this prompted you to come and visit me?"

The samurai shrugged. "I just felt like it. Unless you're busy, then…"

"No!" the force with which the words came out of his mouth shocked both of them. "Uh… I mean…" Izaya lowered his voice to normal. "Stay. Talk with me."

Tsugaru smiled lightly and walked over to him, sitting against the sakura tree as he peered across the horizon to the distant sunset. He felt Izaya sit down next to him, and a light tinkle made him look at the demon. Izaya was holding the sake cup again, rolling it around in his clawed hands.

"Should I have brought some sake?"

Izaya grinned at him. "Should you be getting drunk before the big battle?" he returned.

Tsugaru smiled back. "I suppose not." He looked back at the sky, now a soft blend of warm orange and red. "Next time then…" he found himself saying.

Izaya seemed to perk up at this. "Next time?"

He looked back to find excited eyes. He hesitated.

Tomorrow, there was no doubt in his mind that many of them will die. Tomorrow, the life he knew would be no more, and the flames of war would drag him away from this place, away from Izaya. The shogun and others were confident, of course, but he couldn't let go of the feeling that something was about to go horribly wrong. How could he make such a promise to the demon, a promise that he might not be able to keep?

Izaya would live much longer than he would, centuries even, if the stories were true. Would he keep the other waiting like that, forever, if he died in battle?

_'But, the world is fleeting.' _The demon would find new humans to converse with. They would drink sake, probably under this very sakura tree, after Tsugaru was long gone. Time would move on, with or without a single samurai such as himself. Another would replace him…

_'No!' _He stopped at that sudden surge of anger. '_What is this?'_ He bit his lip, wondering why he was feeling like this.

The demon looked on apprehensively as he continued to fight the internal battle with himself. Izaya's eyes gleamed blood red, just as they had the first night they had met: intense and full of curiosity. He wished he could keep those eyes for himself, away from the horrors of human life, away from everyone else.

"Izaya-san…" Tsugaru paused. What was it that he wanted to say? He didn't want to let the other go. Isn't that why his feet brought him here? What was it that he wanted?

"Drink with me again after," the words came out almost pleadingly.

Tsugaru suddenly realized that even Izaya knew that tomorrow this dream would be over.

'_But it isn't a dream…'_ He stood up and walked over to a patch of softer dirt next to the sakura tree.

Tsugaru took out his own sake cup, twirling in his fingers as Izaya eyed the object intently. He began digging.

"What are you doing?" Izaya asked him, peering over his shoulder as he deepened the hole.

"I'm going to bury my sake cup," Tsugaru told him, "as promise that we'll drink sake under this tree again."

"Heh?" The demon's eyes brightened even more. "So you'll bring a stronger next time?"

"I know more than one brand," Tsugaru replied. He finally managed to create a sizable hole and carefully placed his cup inside. The samurai proceeded to cover the object when Izaya stopped him.

"Wait…" Izaya took out his cup and placed it beside Tsugaru's. The samurai looked at him. "Hey, it's not like I drink with anyone besides you anyway."

Those words softened him, and he suddenly realized what he was feeling earlier. _'Jealousy…'_ He was Izaya's closest human "friend." He didn't even want to think of the future when someone else would replace him after he had died in battle. No, he told himself. He was going to survive this and return. Someday, the two of them, oddities in this country of Japan, would meet again under this tree and share a drink and some stories.

The samurai gave him a smile and pushed the rest of the dirt back into the hole, covering the two cups.

"I promise…"

.

Start of the Boshin War, 1868. January 27.

He heard the roar of cannon fire in the distance as he tore up the hill, his feet lightly crushing the cold grass. Izaya finally reached the top and looked to Kyoto, where the lands south of the city seemed set ablaze by combat.

"It's begun…"

* * *

><p>I tried drawing demon Izaya again the middle of studying, and now he's up on my Deviantart X.x I am very lazy with lines.<p>

Thanks for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Durarara! I don't own thee!

* * *

><p><em>He remembered sakura trees as far as the eye could see blooming in fields unobstructed by the stench of civilization, masking the unmistakable tension that blanketed over Edo, the coming of the end. Gleaming blades stained in blood, once revered and wielded with a merciless precision, were disappearing, replaced by the instruments they called guns… They were going to lose; he knew the moment that coward of a leader left them when the enemy raised the Imperial Standard…<em>

_And him… the one with eyes that burned like brilliant flames and a curiosity as deep as the far ocean to match…  
><em>

'_What the hell is he?'_ Shizuo nearly growled out loud as he aimed a kick at a nearby can. The object bounced off the wall across the street with a clang, already flattened when it fell back down to the pavement. The sound seemed to drown out some of the thoughts, granting the bodyguard a few moments of peace as he followed Tom down the street. Everything from two nights ago still seemed surreal to him: the horns, the man with red hair, the memories of the "demon" that stood among the sakura trees… The fact that the damned flea hasn't shown up in Ikebukuro since the incident only made him more confused. Izaya must have gotten Shinra to slip him something to mess with his mind, and it was sure doing its job well.

"Now don't get mad before meeting our client," Tom said casually before giving his kohai a grin. Their job took them to a relatively quiet residential area of Ikebukuro today, and it was still yet too early to cause a scene. Sighing, the bodyguard took out a cigarette from the box he kept in his back pocket and lit the cancer stick, the one source of calm he had thought to carry with him. He breathed in the nicotine like his life depended on it, feeling the smoke flow through him, hiding the thoughts that plagued his mind.

The bodyguard jammed his hands in his pocket for good measure as the two approached the apartment in case he threw a punch too quickly.

Tom knocked and waited patiently for the client to open the door as Shizuo started to tap his feet. They heard shuffling somewhere inside, but the minutes ticked by without any results, and after a while, it became apparent that they owner had no intention to see them.

"Maybe he went ou…" Tom offered, but they heard a crash before he could finish the sentence, and the bodyguard didn't bother to wait as he turned the handle and tore the door clean off its hinges. The Fortissimo of Ikebukuro stormed inside the apartment, ready to catch the escaping debtor, but only found broken glass all over the floor, remnants of the window in the dim one-room apartment. He peered throw the jagged edges of the glass but found no signs of the escapee, only a rusty fire escape outside where the man must have run through.

"Damn, he got away," he hissed.

"Sorry for intruding," Tom said to the empty room when he suddenly gasped.

"What? Should we go after him?" Shizuo asked, turning around. The sight that met his eyes washed away all thoughts of the fire escape. He blinked several times to make sure it wasn't the trick of the light playing on his eyes, but the pictures remained where they were, blaring at him through the dim light.

"What the hell?"

Pictures of Izaya were strewn all throughout the room walls of the apartment. The informant was on a rooftop, talking to some girls on the street, prowling through the alleys, hands in his pockets, going about his everyday antics… Then, there were photos of someone he didn't know in the flea's clothes: a man with a faraway look and eyes redder than the flea's rusty irises. He was looking down a railing at something below, at the sky, at some indiscernible location outside of the frames of the picture…

Then, the final one that caught his eyes, pinned right in the middle of the stash, was a photo of a side profile of Izaya, a pair of clearly discernible horns on his forehead and red slit eyes, exactly like the ones he had seen just a few nights ago, staring at the moon above him.

"Tch…" He started remembering the events of that night, and once again, the two of them were standing under the sakura trees, petals whirling around them. _'What is this?'_

_The other muttered a few words to him and smiled.  
><em>

_'Who are you?'  
><em>

"Izaya has a stalker?" Tom's voice broke him from his reverie.

.

Tokugawa Yoshinobu flees abroad the _Kaiyou Maru_, 1868. February.

It was finally nightfall, and the constant bombardment that had rattled the castle remained quiet for once, allowing him a few hours to himself while his comrades slept around the grounds, exhausted. Tsugaru let out a heavy sigh from where he sat against the wooden beam, the faint trail of moonlight washing over the deathly silent courtyard his only source of light. He felt restless, especially after what had happened, and the samurai unsheathed his sword yet again to clean off the blood. Again, he found that he had already done so prior.

Tsugaru placed his katana back in place and stared emptily at the barren pavement and dying vegetation no one had bother to tend to after the battles had broken out. He remembered the grounds being quite beautiful and lush the last time he visited, but no matter how much he willed it, the dead grass remained as dead grass. Kyoto was up in flames, and the balance of power had finally shifted away from them, away from the shogunate. The luxuries they had enjoyed at the top had all been taken from them, perhaps forever.

He closed his eyes and willed his mind to rest just a few moments. A tired body would do him no good in the trials to come.

_He saw Izaya in his mind's eye standing under that sakura tree next to the small stream. It was finally spring, and light pink petals blew around them, the soft wind caressing his face and lifting the demon's long sleeves about. Izaya was smiling, eyes bright as he suddenly opened his mouth and whispered a few words._

"_Izaya-san?" he called to the other.  
><em>

_The demon grinned and held out a sake cup to him. _

_Some birds were chirping in the distance, and…_

A shadow over him woke him from his light nap, and he looked up to see none other than a human Mamoru standing in front of him.

"Mamoru-san," he greeted the other, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. The demon nodded silently before looking around them for any trace of eavesdroppers. He found none.

"You are leaving tomorrow?" he finally asked, his voice low.

Tsugaru nodded. The demon sighed and seemed to contemplate this answer. Mamoru finally reached into his bag and removed a few sheets of paper along with some writing implements.

The samurai looked intently from the materials to the demon who was offering them to him. "For Izaya?"

"He would appreciate it," Mamoru explained.

The samurai smiled sadly as he took the paper. "I promised him I'd come back, you know."

"I know," Mamoru replied as he looked around him to the others, dead asleep from exhaustion, "but human life is fleeting. I hope that you would not be the one to teach him that lesson."

Tsugaru sighed as he prepared the ink. "I wish the same."

.

The cold winter air stung his nose, and he moved his freezing hands absentmindedly into his sleeves to rewarm them. As a demon, the cold didn't particularly affect him, but his exposed hands seemed to be cold these days no matter what he did.

Tsugaru lingered in his mind, and the results of the battle he had seen a few days earlier only added to his worry. They had lost; the banner had retreated towards Osaka. Izaya kept his distance, knowing that he would not fare any better in Osaka than in Kyoto, looking so different from the humans who warred with each other. He felt listless, useless even though he knew he was so much stronger than them in body. Yet, one against an army was impossible, even for a demon.

Izaya looked up from his seat when Mamoru entered the clearing, almost as if he had materialized straight in.

"Izaya-sama." The demon greeted him with a bow.

"Mamoru." Izaya stood up slowly, brushing his kimono off as the other approached him. He wanted to ask about Tsugaru, he really did, but each passing day the ropes that had seemed to wound around him only became tighter. If he said anything more, it would only put the samurai in danger for getting too close to him. He still wasn't sure if his mother had given Mamoru any orders of the sort.

However, the other seemed to sense his discomfort and reached into his pocket. He withdrew a folded piece of paper: a letter.

Izaya eyed the rice paper blankly as its owner's hands slowly brought it up to the demon prince. Was it from his mother? Or… he dared to hope, just a little… was it from…

Izaya looked up from the folded paper to Mamoru, eyes wide.

"Is it…"

"It's from Tsugaru-san," the other answered. Izaya hesitated, and Mamoru brought the letter closer to him. "I didn't read it," the red-haired demon reassured him.

Biting his lip, Izaya took the piece of paper from the other and slowly opened it. He had never seen Tsugaru's writing before, and the sight of its perfection nearly took his breath away. Each stroke was precisely executed, and not a mistake stood out to him on the page, save for the first stroke - the tiniest of smudges where the writer must have hesitated. He touched the ink lightly, the rice paper a little worn under his hands.

Mamoru waited patiently as Izaya finally set his eyes on the content, mouthing silently as he read each word:

_Izaya-san,_

_I hope you are doing well. Mamoru told me that you are still in Kyoto. Please stay warm. It is still quite cold these past few days.  
><em>

_I am not sure how much you have heard about the war, so I'll tell what I know. It's going to be a while before I can tell you anymore stories.  
><em>

Izaya paused at that sentence. What did he mean? His hands shook as he continued:

_The shogun has betrayed us, his people. He retreated to Edo right after they announced that we were enemies of the emperor. I can understand his fears, but he has forgotten his duty, his honor.  
><em>

_The others have already lost the will to fight. It is likely that Osaka Castle has already fallen by the time you read this.  
><em>

_We will be departing to Edo to regroup by sea. The ones who remain will surely surrender or die fighting._

_I'm afraid I'll be quite far away from Kyoto for a while. I hope that you'll be okay on your own, Izaya-san. _

_It would've been nice if we had been able to see your sakura tree bloom._

Izaya reread the letter again, the realization sinking in with every word. Tsugaru was gone. He had left Kyoto. He looked up to Mamoru, who seemed unwilling to answer his forming question.

"They've retreated to Edo safely," the other demon finally confirmed.

"To the East?" Izaya asked.

"You should not follow them, Izaya-sama," Mamoru immediately replied.

The demon bit his lip and looked away. He knew he was wearing his emotions on his face now, and it was inevitable that Mamoru would figure out what he was thinking.

As he expected, the other didn't relent. "What do you hope to gain by following him? There are many humans. You're sure to find another more interesting one eventually."

Izaya remained silent at this.

"Remember what happened to your father. They may seem docile now, but even the strongest can be tamed by his peers. He is not yours alone, Izaya-sama. He has friends that he has to protect, and if he had to choose between you or them…"

"Stop!" Izaya trembled. "Please… just stop."

Mamoru sighed. "I know he is a good person. That's why I asked him to write to you. But… it's time to find a replacement."

"You're wrong," Izaya muttered under his breath as he carefully folded the letter and placed it in his sleeve. He stood up to leave, and Mamoru made no move to stop him.

"You shouldn't go after the damned. There are always others."

"You're wrong…" the demon prince repeated before looking to the sakura tree that had kept him company for all these months, just like the samurai had done. Tsugaru was unique among humans, and the thought of losing him made him want to charge right into Kyoto and slay the ones who had started this senseless war.

"Humans aren't things that can be replaced like toys."

To his mild surprise, Mamoru smiled. "You are just like your father…"

* * *

><p>Sorry this is so epically late! I had finals and then suddenly I graduated. Now I'll be gone for another 2 weeks across the ocean. X.x Here is my present to you. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.<p>

I don't think I'll have enough time to write in Japan, so next one will be up early June, I promise!

Thanks for reading!


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Durarara! I don't own thee!

* * *

><p>Izaya trudged through the streets of Ikebukuro, his hood pulled far over his eyes to shield them from the relentless afternoon sun. He had insisted on heading out for a few hours despite Mamoru's protests, and now he found himself regretting it more and more with every step he took. The red haired demon was right; he needed to rest for a few days. However, work was demanding, and a few of his clients, particularly one of the Awakusu-kai, required face to face meetings.<p>

The demon sighed, deciding to dodge into a nearby alley to rest for a moment. He found a slightly cleaner wall, far enough from the bustling crowd and blinding sunlight, and leaned against it in relief before taking out one of his many cellphones. The screen indicated more than a dozen messages that had popped up since he departed from Shinjuku.

"Really now, humans… so demanding…" He grinned. It had been over a century since he had walked among them undetected, and they still never ceased to amaze him.

He had used it as a distraction at first, one that kept him going day after day as he waited for the time that he would meet Tsugaru again, but now he felt as if he had completely submersed himself in the world of humans. Not a day goes by that he did not leave his apartment to mingle with them, and not two days go by without the Fortissimo of Ikebukuro finding him.

He stopped texting for a moment and sighed, reveling in a distant memory that had suddenly attached itself to his thoughts. He allowed himself this weakness occasionally during quiet moments like this, but memories just weren't enough.

Tsugaru was real, and he was here, in Ikebukuro. He was just a little far away at the moment, or so he told himself time after time.

His ears detected an odd sound and he stopped his tormenting thoughts in favor of the present.

It was quiet here… too quiet…

.

Shizuo was resolute. He reinforced his decision over and over again in his mind as he made his way through Ikebukuro. He was going to track down the flea and get to the bottom of this - horns, sakura trees, sunsets - all of it. The one in his memories was Izaya; he didn't know how, but he was sure of it. The question of why he was thinking of the flea in such away ate away at his every waking moment, and he wasn't about to let the informant win over his mind like this.

Even worse, every time a new memory struck him, it left him nearly fluttering, like his heart had been warmed next to some heater on a cold winter's day. Was the flea trying to give him a heart attack?

_'This isn't natural,'_ he told himself once again as he thought of the one in his memories. _'It's his fault.'_

As if it were instinct, he caught the flea's "scent" soon enough, and followed it until he saw the informant himself walking down the streets of Ikebukuro, hood pulled over his eyes.

_'That's strange,' _Shizuo thought. It wasn't rare for Izaya to bundle up every now and then, but it wasn't a particularly cold day, and such an action during the middle of the day wouldn't hide the flea's obvious trademark coat away from the eyes of the public.

He saw the furry hood disappear behind a corner and made to follow, automatically reaching out for the stop sign next to him.

"Hm?" A man near the alley the flea had walked into was glancing left and right a little too obviously before following the informant's footsteps. _'A client?'_

The metal pole twisted under his hands, and he wrenched it cleanly off its hinges as the crowd around him began to noticeably disperse.

"I'll get you this time," he muttered under his breath, stomping towards the alley.

_'Wait, what if that guy's not a client?'_ He paused, and after a brief thought, turned towards the direction of the adjacent alley.

.

Izaya began edging away from the corner of the wall. He heard footsteps, far too slow and quiet to be a normal pedestrian or a certain protozoan. It had been a while since he had gone through Ikebukuro so long without Shizuo making a racket behind him, so this long missed silence gave him the creeps. He hadn't heard them for a time now, but he was certain footsteps like these did not bode well.

The demon began to walk away in a steady stride, shrugging away his panicking thoughts. He had his switchblade with him after all, and it made no sense for anyone to try anything during this time of day. He began walking faster. But, people are known not to help when they see someone in dangerous situations, especially someone like him, who was already well-known to always encounter dangerous bouts with a certain bodyguard.

"Tch…" Izaya grit his teeth. _'Why am I so nervous? This isn't like me.'_ His heart began to beat faster, but he knew exactly what it was that bothered him. In this state, if anything were to happen, he'd turn back instantly and the entire world would know of his "condition."

'_This alley is empty though,'_ he started to formulate a course of action. If he could get whoever was following him to a more isolated location, then he could… He shook his head. _'What am I thinking? I must be tired.'_ Losing the stranger was a better solution.

'_Let's see…'_ He hated this feeling of being followed. He never showed it, but it was a well known fact that he was a hard man to track. Try following, and he'd be gone before you'd know it, unless you were Shizuo. The ones from _that time_ had followed them without him noticing, and he wasn't about to let anything like that happen ever again.

'_Never again…'_

Izaya turned a corner and heard the footsteps quicken. Was he really followed this often? He knew he was always too preoccupied with Shizuo to notice, and anyone in their right mind would leave the two alone during their many fights. _'Maybe it's Shiki's men?'_

"Hey, what are you doing?" a familiar voice growled.

Izaya let out a muffled yell as he crashed straight into a man in a bartender suit. _'Oh, not good…'_

He heard the footsteps behind him turn tail and run when whoever it was saw Shizuo. He almost let out a sigh of relief but held it in the last moment before turning to face the blond, rubbing his stinging nose.

"Unlike a certain protozoan I know, I have work." He saw brown eyes, twisted in what could only be called "displeasure." It wasn't like he had never seen those eyes content and calm; when Shizuo talked to Tom he was as calm as Tsugaru had been. Izaya almost framed the other out of jealously, but he held back the last moment after a long drawn-out consultation with Mamoru.

"Must be shitty work," the bodyguard growled, taking a step forward. Izaya saw Shizuo glance briefly past him.

'_Did he see the guy?'_ Izaya realized.

"So…" A clang drew Izaya's attention to the stop sign Shizuo was holding. "What are you planning?" he asked, deciding to take the upfront approach.

"Huh?" Izaya blinked. For once, he wasn't really planning anything in particular.

"Don't play dumb with me. I saw them," the bodyguard repeated.

"Saw what?" Izaya managed to keep his composure. _'My true form?'_

"These," Shizuo pointed at his forehead with a hooked finger. "Horns."

"I… uh… I was working." He realized how strange that reason sounded and reaffirmed to himself once again that the first excuse to grace his mind wasn't always the best response. "It was a costume I got from the store, nothing that concerns you." The last four words nearly ripped his heart out.

"Like cosplay?"

"That's a way of putting it!" Izaya laughed nervously, glancing for an opening. In his state, there was none. _'What am I doing?'_ Still, he found himself feeling smallest hint of warmth that the two of them had exchanged words for more than a minute without anyone attempting a blow.

"Then what is this?" Shizuo pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. It was the photograph he had snatched from the stalker's room, but he wasn't about to tell the flea about how he came across it. Not yet, anyway.

Izaya stared at the picture, eyes widening. He grabbed at it, but the other raised it out of his reach.

"Where did you get that?"

"Some crazy guy was following you." Shizuo looked behind him again, and Izaya suddenly realized that the bodyguard had noticed the entire time that someone had entered this isolated alley behind him.

"Is that so?" He tried to think it through slowly. So, Shizuo knew about his demon appearance, but that didn't mean that the bodyguard suspected anything too strange, right?

"Are you playing some sick mind games on me?" Shizuo suddenly accused as Izaya was trying to collect his thoughts.

"Huh?" Izaya answered again, annoyed that he had replied so dumbly twice in the same day. Shizuo seemed furious. "What do you mean?" He knew his actual confusion this time was only adding fire to the fuel.

"Is this some kind of kink?" Shizuo pocketed the picture, grimacing. "You with horns and pointed ears…"

"Shizu-chan, it's cosplay, remember?" Izaya could not believe the conclusion the other was drawing from all this.

"Then why am I getting all these weird visions?"

'_Visions? Could it be?'_ Izaya took a breath. "Shizu-chan…"

"Look, I know that you're sick-minded, but seriously. Just in case you don't know already, I don't have a thing for _monsters_ standing under sakura trees."

Izaya blinked, and he realized that his vision was blurry. _'What?'_ He reached up to his eyes and felt that the corner was damp. The informant made to speak, but Shizuo suddenly groaned and took a step back.

"Damn it, what the hell?" The bodyguard had his free hand on his forehead now, as if he had a headache.

'_He's…'_ Izaya watched the other with wide eyes. _'Could it be?'_

"Shizu-chan… What do you see?" he asked, unable to contain the excitement in his voice. He couldn't believe it. Shizuo was really starting to get traces of Tsugaru's memories back!

The bodyguard looked up at him, eyes glazed. "So it is you!" Despite the momentary trace of calmness that could only be Tsugaru's, the anger in his eyes now was unmistakable. "You monster!"

The word, now spoken twice, stopped the informant in his tracks.

_"Monster!" the boy had called him, eyes burning with hatred and fear that only the unknown could do to a human._

"You're the monster!" Izaya found himself growling through gritted teeth, feeling the anger well up him in, although nowhere in comparison to the sinking hole his stomach had just fallen into. _'Tsugaru finally called me a monster…'_

"Stop it already!" Shizuo yelled to him.

_'A monster…'_ Izaya took a step back, trying keeping his anger in check. It was just like that day… their first meeting at Raira Academy…

The stop sign came down at him.

.

Beginning of Spring, 1868. March.

Tsugaru placed his brush down and rolled up the unfinished letter before blowing out the candle. He sat there in the darkness for a few moments, the remnants of candle smoke still lingering in the room. Finally sighing, the samurai got up and lightly placed the letter into his pouch, now filled with a dozen other sheets that Mamoru would never be able to deliver.

After a few weeks here in Edo, he admitted that he missed Kyoto. The well-organized blocked streets, the Kamo River that ran through the city, the familiar mountains that burned once a year in the summer, the demon who waited for him beneath a massive sakura tree next to a stream…

Izaya, the one that had accepted who he was unconditionally… The demon was not here in the East.

Tsugaru crawled into his futon and nearly flung the bag of letters to the side before catching himself last minute and set it down softly.

He lied down on the hard pillow.

With the war going as it was, it was highly unlikely that he would ever be returning to Kyoto. It was unlikely that he would even survive the battles to come.

He knew it, deep in his heart, even during that moment he had buried their sake cups beneath the tree.

He had lied to the demon.

That thought, and the idea that Izaya was waiting for him under that sakura tree, waiting for someone that was never going to return, made his heart clench.

He had lied.

"Izaya-san…"

Brilliant red eyes accompanied by a small smile danced in his mind as sleep finally took him.

.

Izaya breathed in the salty air, feeling the ocean breeze sweep through his hair. His straw hat started to slide off, and he grasped it just in time to save it from the clutches of another strong gust.

"Careful, Izaya-sama." Mamoru had taken the place beside him on deck, his own normal human features unobstructed by anything as inconvenient as a hat on this windy ship.

The older demon had secured them both a voyage to Edo, and Izaya was jittery the moment he set foot on the boat, partly because it was his first trip to the ocean and partly because the other watched him like a hawk to ensure that his nature was not revealed to the other passengers.

He thought about Tsugaru, the human that he had suddenly met that night under that sakura tree, nearly half a year ago. Why did he try so hard for a mere human?

Izaya rested his chin on the boat rails, a hand still steadying his straw hat. He understood that humans disappear quickly, sometimes even faster than a full cycle of the seasons, but that didn't stop him from coming into this boat. Mamoru said that he was like his father, but it wasn't an interest in humans that kept him searching for Tsugaru. He knew what interest was, but this seemed different, like something more.

He felt empty those few weeks by himself, even with the frequent visits from Mamoru. It was alien to him; he had never gotten so attached to something in his life, something so fleeting.

It was beautiful, fresh like the ocean breeze that now blew at him, playfully trying to take his hat away, yet it was painful, every moment he spent thinking about the samurai.

"Hm…" he sighed.

"What is it, Izaya-sama?"

"I think I…" he stopped, unwilling to finish that sentence. Izaya looked back at the ocean. _'What is it that I want to say?'_

Mamoru straightened Izaya's hat as to reassure him, but the demon prince could see a frown on the other's mouth out of the corner of his eye.

* * *

><p>Hello! Oh my goodness, I leave for a month and so many changes to the website!<p>

Japan was pure wonderful; my heart has been refilled with more Shizaya and my wallet emptied. (hearts)

Anyways, so… with the stuff that's been going on here, I just want to say if anything should happen to any of my stories, I'll repost them on my livejournal (soranoleviathan), so rest assured!

As usual, thanks for reading! I missed you guys!


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Durarara! I don't own thee!

* * *

><p>A clang resounded throughout the alley, followed by still silence as its two original occupants stared wide-eyed upon a third.<p>

"Swinging something like that around is a little dangerous, don't you think?" Akabayashi asked the bodyguard lightly as he kept his cane steady against the stop sign initially aimed at Izaya.

"Don't get in my way," Shizuo growled in response, sweat still trickling down his forehead. The hatred in his brown eyes shone clearly, and the wave of memories that had surely just washed through his mind seemed to have stopped for the time being.

On the other hand, the red haired yakuza returned his opponent's glare with a wide grin. "And just what am I in the way of, may I ask?" The cane moved an inch forward, forcing the stop sign back despite its wielder's strength. The creak of bending metal accompanied the stress marks that continued to slowly build along the iron pole. The two stared at each other expectantly, daring the other to make the first move. Shizuo could not recall a time he had felt this from an opponent other than the flea during those rare brief moments Izaya stood still enough for the tension to set in. The man in front of him was dangerous.

"Stop, Akabayashi," a quiet voice suddenly cut the air.

The two turned to the informant in surprise. Shizuo could not make out the flea's expression, as Izaya had pulled his hood further down over his face while his attention was still focused on the one called "Akabayashi." He imagined the other smirking like usual, probably enjoying the death match he had, and Shizuo admitted that it was odd, just stopped.

Akabayashi seemed just as perplexed. "Are you sure?"

"Thanks. It's enough already," the voice came out strangely strained, and Shizuo saw the informant wipe at his face with a furry sleeve.

"But he…" the yakuza tried to argue, fired up even more after the gesture.

"Enough!" Remnants of the informant's voice echoed through the alleys as Akabayashi closed his mouth and Shizuo nearly lost his grip on the stop sign. Since when could the informant yell like that?

Izaya took a step back, surprised by his own force. Face hidden by the shadows of his hood, he finally turned and ran from the two, disappearing around the corner.

"Great, you made him cry again, asshole." Akabayashi sighed and swung to the side, ripping the stop sign from Shizuo's hands. The wall where the object landed suffered a small crack. "I'd love to kick your ass right now, but my dad might kick mine if anything happens to Izaya." He lowered the cane. "I guess I'll be seeing you again later then," he said casually, giving the other a wave before going after the informant. The smile never left his face throughout the entire provocation.

Shizuo glared at the spot where the two had disappeared, his confusion finally prevailing over his initial rage.

_'So the flea was really…' _He grimaced. _'Impossible.'_

"And what did that bastard mean by, 'again'?" he muttered, attempting to distract himself as he picked up the discarded stop sign. He had never met someone who could match him in strength like this before. "Ugh…" Shizuo put a hand to his head when it suddenly pulsed again, this time weakly.

_Bright red eyes stared at him, the sky behind their owner melting into the sunset. He felt a warm hand, trembling ever so slightly, around his own. _

_Something wet fell onto his hands, and he looked up weakly to the other, making to wipe the tears away. However, his hands, always firm and powerful around the katana, dropped to the ground before he could even touch the other's face. He felt limp, as if everything had suddenly slowed down for him, except for the one before him._

"_Tsugaru…"_

_He almost heard his heart crack. He tried to say something, but his lungs threatened to give way with the little energy he had left._

_"Tsugaru!"_

_If he could only move his hand, to keep on assuring the other that this was okay, that the demon shouldn't blame himself for what had happened… That he'll always love the him, no matter what… He feared his words were not going to be enough._

_His vision started to fade._

"_Iza…" He felt his last breath leave his lungs and all turned to black._

A snap brought Shizuo back to reality, and he looked down to see his former weapon lying in two pieces at his feet.

.

"Oi!"

Izaya heard footsteps behind him but didn't bother to slow down. His vision had started to swim, but he kept on going, willing the soreness to overtake the aching in his chest. He hadn't intended it to be like this. If he had known that something like that this was going to happen then he…

_'Tsugaru…'_

"Hey! I said stop!"

A hand grabbed his, and Izaya finally came to a halt, nearly wheezing. He tried to catch his breath but ended up coughing, feeling his eyes watering as he peered through the tears at the yakuza.

"Sheesh, you've got to be careful in times like these," Akabayashi told him, pulling his hood further over his head. "What if someone sees you transform back?"

"What does it matter?" Izaya muttered. "And, if you haven't noticed, I haven't turned back yet."

"I know, but your eyes are swollen. Can't have them seeing that either."

"Tch…" Izaya looked the other way, keeping his eyes fixated on the ground. "Did Shiki tell you to come get me?"

"Nah, I already told him that you'll be late."

That only left one person. "Then, Mamoru?"

Akabayashi scratched his head. "Yeah, Dad said to keep an eye on you."

"He worries too much."

"Hey hey, if I were in his shoes, I'd worry too. I mean, look at you." He really wished Izaya could see how those swollen eyes were glaring at him. Now, he had to think of an excuse to keep Izaya away from Shiki for at least a day. He had never seen the demon prince like this in public, but then again, he had rarely seen Izaya fazed by anything at all save for the briefest of grimaces whenever Shizuo was involved. The yakuza bit his lip. A demon prince, more than century old, affected so much by a mere human… "I really don't know what you see in that guy." All he saw was a blond haired punk with a fuse shorter than his cigarette butt.

"He's Tsugaru," Izaya answered simply.

Akabayashi sighed. Granted, he's never met the guy, but he was certain that this "Tsugaru" didn't go around throwing public property. "You know people don't normally get memories of their past lives back, right?"

"But he…" Izaya paused. Now that he thought of it, everything could've been coincidence: maybe Shizu-chan had some weird dreams or something from the photo. After all, the human mind makes up the most irrational of stories to explain the unknown.

"He might not even be that guy, you know?" Akabayashi continued, but he had already hit the wall.

"No… I'm sure of it…" Izaya replied.

"How so?"

"I'm just sure." He just knew. It wasn't something that could be explained, but, even as the two of them passed the days as moral enemies in spite of a hundred years ago, he knew for sure that Shizuo was Tsugaru.

"Why can't you just tell him?" Izaya flinched, and the red haired yakuza allowed himself a grin. "Don't tell me you didn't think of this before?"

"He's not going to believe me," the informant replied softly.

"You never know."

"He attacked me the first time he saw me at Raira."

"Well that's…" Akabayashi couldn't think of an explanation for that.

"It must be retribution…" Izaya started walking again, and Akabayashi followed after closely. "It was my fault he died after all."

"And you'd make him suffer along with you?"

"You don't understand." Izaya smiled. "When he suffers, I suffer too."

.

Sakura trees bloom in Edo, 1868. April.

Tsugaru walked down one of the busy streets of Edo, pulling his hat over his eyes in an attempt to escape the constant stares of the civilians of the bustling city. He felt restless these past days as the higher ups continued their discussions of a suitable course of action now that Tokugawa Yoshinobu had isolated himself in a temple. There wasn't much for soldiers like him to do other than to patrol the streets and calm whatever trouble they ran across. At least, that was what true samurai like him did.

The samurai let out a sigh as he peered over the crowd of black haired heads, none of which had horns. He stopped himself. Why would they have horns? They were just people, going along with their usual lives, unaffected too much by the war started in the West.

"Izaya," he muttered under his breath, knowing that the demon wouldn't answer him, especially in crowded place like this. The other had probably found someone new to talk with; Kyoto wasn't the only city in the West, and he was certain that if the little demon prince hadn't forgotten him on his own by now, Mamoru would've done something about it.

He did appreciate the final gesture the older demon gave him however, and he wondered if Izaya had ever gotten the letter. He wanted to write more, but one of his comrades had started to stir and as quickly as he had appeared, Mamoru disappeared as soon as Tsugaru's shortened letter entered his hands.

The flow of humans was smooth and swift, not a sign of trouble in sight. Only black hair, buckets of fish, excited children running around their parents, a tall man with a straw hat, a portion of red hair flowing down his back…

"Mamoru?" Tsugaru mouthed. It wasn't normal at all to see a Japanese man with red hair. To his surprise, the person actually nodded and started to walk in his direction through the flow of traffic.

'_It really is him!'_ If Mamoru was here, then was Izaya… _'Perhaps he's here to deliver a letter?'_ he thought instead, knowing it was a small to no chance that the demon prince had followed him all the way to Edo. He waited apprehensively for the demon to approach, and he did, only to pass him and stop next to him, still facing the opposite direction.

"There is a grove of cherry trees up in the northwest corner of Edo. I heard they just started blooming quite nicely this past week," Mamoru said, his face expressionless. He nodded to no one in particular and continued on his way, pulling his hat a little more over his eyes.

Tsugaru turned, his mouth opened with a response, but the demon had gone.

.

The samurai had found the aforementioned grove easily enough; he could see its bright colors from afar. Getting there, however, took him longer than expected, and by the time he reached the first of the blooming giants, the sun had started to set. He could make out red among the branches, and took a breath of anticipation as he moved deeper into the trees.

He stepped into the clearing as he brushed some of the flower rimmed branches aside.

Izaya turned around when he heard the rustling leaves, his eyes widening when he saw the samurai. Then, the two of them were standing beneath the same sakura tree, its soft pink petals fluttering around them as the spring breeze picked up.

The demon, eyes as beautiful as the blood red sunset rays of the dying sun, was here, realer than any dream.

"Hey… Tsugaru…" Izaya's voice came out a little hesitantly, as if he didn't know what to say to the samurai.

Tsugaru took one, two steps. His pace picked up until he finally reached the demon, and in a sudden wide gesture, he threw his arms around the other, the folds of his blue haori mixing in with Izaya's red kimono. Izaya was concrete; he was here, under the sakura trees of Edo. He understood now, why he had been unable to get the other out of his mind, in this place so far from what he used to call home.

"Tsugaru…" the demon called his name again. Why did Izaya sound so unsure of himself? He held the other tighter.

They stayed like that for a while, a dancing flame at the edge of the vast blue ocean only a speck among the soft petals that whirled around them.

Tsugaru felt a pair of arms finally make their way around him in response. Izaya still looked unsure, but this time his mouth was half opened, as if he wanted very much to say something but couldn't bring himself to say it.

"Hey, say something," Izaya finally mumbled, the faintest of blushes dusting his cheeks as he dodged whatever he wanted to say the last second. He buried his face in the folds of Tsugaru's kimonos in an attempt to hide, but his reddening ears still gave him away.

Tsugaru hesitated for a moment. What if he was wrong? What if he was misinterpreting everything? He's never been around people for a long time and has of course never encountered this sort of situation. What was he supposed to do?

Izaya finally looked up, wide eyes still hesitating. The demon opened his mouth again in an attempt. It was then Tsugaru decided to lean in.

The kiss was chaste, and reciprocated, to his relief. Tsugaru drew back, confidence renewed. He knew what Izaya wanted to say.

"Ah…" Apparently the kiss had taken away the rest of Izaya's voice.

The samurai smiled warmly as he bent forward and whispered in the demon's ear. He'll talk for the both of them.

* * *

><p>Hello! Sorry this is so late x.x I fell into a bit of a writer's block and then started translating doujinshi's instead. I also made a demon Izaya plushie, but I don't know what pattern to paint on his kimono. And and...<p>

Anime Expo this week! Ah so excited!

As usual, thanks for reading!


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Durarara! I don't own thee!

* * *

><p><em>'I hate them. I hate the ones who killed you.'<em>

Izaya airily watched the clean-up from his place by the crates, the sounds of punching resounding through his ears as Shiki's men pounded on the ones he had lured to this remote warehouse. It had been three days since Akabayashi practically placed him under house arrest in the guise of a short vacation, but the regained energy did nothing for the constant uneasiness that ate away at his heart. The other had insisted that he take another day off, but Izaya adamantly went straight back to work, the scene before him the fruits of a mere 2 hours of his labor.

'_3 days…'_ He hadn't seen Shizuo for three entire days, and he was not about to start searching for the other anytime soon. Too much work had built up during his short absence, and he still wanted some time to think before seeing the bodyguard again. Working seemed to calm him a little, but no matter where he turned, he could only hear that one word echo through his head like a curse.

'_Monster…'_

'_Monster!'_

He had heard that word so many times, too many times. He himself had used it so freely with Shizuo, a curse casted so many times he lost count.

"Oi! Look out!" a sudden augmented yell brought him back into reality in time to dodge an underling who had lunged his way.

"You damned traitor!" the man hissed before jumping at him again. The switchblade had already slid into his hand, only a click away from drawing blood, but then Izaya realized a second too late that the gleam in the other's hand wasn't a watch. A burning pain shot through his right palm as his attacker's knife made its way through, and the switch blade he had almost been able to draw dropped uselessly to the floor.

Izaya stared at the blood that started to flow with wide eyes. _'I hate them all.' _The words echoed repeatedly through his head as he took a step back, something the attacker took as a sign of weakness. '_They should die.'_

"No, I love all humans," Izaya whispered as the man picked up his own discarded switchblade from the floor.

"Orihara!" Shiki yelled from across the room. The yakuza executive took one, two, steps, and stopped in his tracks when he heard a muffled scream. The punk that had went after his informant went flying across the room and crashed into a crate, splintering the wood and landing inside with a groan.

Izaya gritted his teeth and pulled out the knife with one swift motion, feeling the wound begin to close as soon as the foreign object was gone. "Shit," he muttered under his breath as he tossed the offensive weapon aside. He backed away from the fight and leaned against the wall, grasping his wrist tightly as he waited for the pain to subside.

_'Die. Die. Die.'_ He could feel the anger surge in his stomach, and he closed his eyes, willing for the fire to die down. He couldn't lose it, not now.

_"Tsugaru!" Anger. Fear. Everything overwhelmed him at once, and his mind became a blank puppet to the one command that shot through his entire body. 'Kill…'_

The fighting slowly died out as the last of the members surrendered, and Izaya could hear Shiki's men dragging the others outside while he waited for the pain in his palm to subside. He focused on calming his breathing first as he willed the negative thoughts away. "No, I love all humans," he muttered again to himself. _'I promised him…'_

"Here," a low voice broke him from his trance, prompting Izaya to look up. A handkerchief had taken the spot in front of his face. He snatched it from Shiki and wrapped it around his hand lest the other saw that it had already fully healed. "It's not like you to get that distracted," Shiki commented, watching the other with an indiscernible expression.

"Even I make mistakes every now and then," Izaya replied quietly. He hoped he wasn't sweating too much, but he supposed that was normal for a human in pain. However, his state was the fault of something far more complex than the feeling of pain.

"That was quite an impressive mistake," Shiki commented, looking behind him at the destroyed crate. His men had already moved the attacker outside to deal with him accordingly.

Izaya shrugged, plastering his usual grin back on his face. "In the face of danger, the human body does some amazing things," he explained easily. Humans like Shizu-chan existed in this world after all. The thought of the bodyguard quieted him, and he concentrated instead on keeping his gaze steady. He knew the other suspected something strange, but Shiki had always been quite lenient with him, especially with Akabayashi around. "Well then, since we're done here…" he moved from his place against the wall to make his swift retreat.

"Off to another job so soon?" Shiki asked after him.

"Unless you're offering me lunch," Izaya replied playfully.

"I'm guessing that you'd turn me down today even if I did."

Izaya stopped, whirling around on his toes. "What makes you think that?"

"I've known you for a long time. Even I can recognize some of your moods by now."

"Hm…" Izaya suddenly wished that he had a mirror with him right now, as much as he hated those things. "What mood am I in?" he asked, his tone light. He had been in this business for such a long time that his masks were nearly automatic no matter what went through his mind at the moment.

_'What expression do I have on my face?'_

Shiki smirked. "You're frustrated with something. I'm guessing that you'll be drowning yourself in work to bury it away."

"What makes you say that?" He admitted to himself that that was the ideal plan though.

"You've done that several times in the past, you know."

This definitely caught Izaya by surprise. He supposed after a moment that it would be impossible for a man like Shiki to not recognize little details such as these.

They stared at each other for a good while before the yakuza executive finally took out his cigarette box. "What you do that does not involve the Awakusu-kai does not concern me, but at least get that treated first. It would trouble me if our best informant lost his texting hand."

Izaya chuckled, finally feeling the tension break. "Don't worry about me. Have fun with the clean up!"

He retreated out of the warehouse after a last backward wave, deciding to go to Shinra's after all to pick up some bandages.

Several blocks down and a safe distance away, Izaya took the handkerchief off, wiping the off remaining dampness before stuffing his hand in his pocket.

"So even he's noticed…" the demon muttered.

.

"Yo!"

Shizuo instinctively grabbed the unfortunate lamppost next to him and was just about to wrench the object off the floor when a hand stopped him.

"Relax. I'm not here to fight," a familiar voice said pleasantly.

"You…" he growled back, slowly letting go of the pole when the grip on his hand didn't sway.

The other withdrew his hand, grinning as Shizuo flexed it to check for damage or tears to his shirt. The man had an unusually strong grip. "You need to control that anger. Orihara must have been devastated when he learned his beloved Tsugaru turned into such a short-tempered punk."

"I'm not Tsugaru!" Shizuo snapped, the anger welling up in him again despite himself.

"But you have his memories." Shizuo opened his mouth to object but closed it, frowning. The man smiled. "See, even you can't deny it, huh?"

Shizuo had been so intent on denying it, but the emotions from the last memory didn't relent. He had waited and waited, but he could still feel the anguish, the desperation, the look on the demon's face as everything faded away… They weren't completely foreign emotions to him, but he had never experienced them so intensely.

"What did the flea do to me?" the bodyguard asked quietly, telling himself that he wasn't going to get any answers from this guy if he were to start fighting now. Besides, there was something strangely off about this man.

"It's not a drug, I can tell you that much." The man motioned to the park. "Let's move. It's getting a little noisy here."

"Tch…" Indeed, the crowd had become noticeably thicker after Shizuo laid his hands on the pole and didn't uproot it. "Fine… you…."

"Akabayashi," the other clarified his name.

He grudgingly followed the one called Akabayashi into the adjacent park, stuffing his hands in his pocket after lighting a cigarette.

"You can't expect me to believe any of this. It just doesn't make any sense," Shizuo told the other on an isolated park bench a few minutes later. Being away from the loud scuffle of the main street seemed to have calmed his senses a little, but he still refused to accept what Akabayashi had surely came to tell him.

"Sure it does. You've just been too stubborn to accept it, and Orihara's been too cowardly to tell you." Akabayashi frowned. "Makes sense though, considering how you attacked him during your first meeting."

"He attacked me back!"

Akabayashi laughed. "You should know how fast a demon's reflexes can be."

"He's…"

"He's not human. You know that right? No mere human can survive after being pounded around so many times by you like that."

"Tch…"

"Look, I'm just suggesting that you go talk to him without throwing something at him. It might do you two some good."

Shizuo sighed, still bristling with the thought. "I can't accept any of this," he repeated.

"Well, accept it soon before all hell breaks loose."

The bodyguard glared at him. "You don't know half of what that's flea's done."

Akabayashi grinned. "And you don't know half of what he could've done." A small beep from his pocket prompted him to shift his attention away from Shizuo for a moment as he took out his phone. "Huh, looks like he might start any time now."

.

Surrender of Edo, 1868. May.

Tsugaru could hear the light tap of rain outside his single room, rented with the money he had saved up all these years. The weather was still comfortably cool this late in spring, but the humidity had already begun to set it, clinging to his skin mercilessly when he woke up a little before the sun rose.

Tsugaru planted a light kiss on Izaya's forehead, his fingertips ghosting over one of the small horns that stuck out through the other's black silky hair. The form next to him shifted groggily, and he drew the other closer despite the heat. Their legs were tangled among the sheets, and Izaya nestled his head just under Tsugaru's chin, his breath tickling the samurai's chest.

Tsugaru closed his eyes again, his heart clenching. This will not last.

This happiness will not last.

"Tsugaru-san! Tsugaru-san!" Someone called from outside the sliding door at the break of dawn. He untangled himself from the sheets and made his way across the tatami, stopping just long enough to grab his discarded kimono and hurryingly tied the garment on. "Tsu…" the speaker stopped as Tsugaru opened the paper door just a crack.

"Oh, uh…" the man blushed when he saw someone else stir in the dim room. "My apologies," he whispered.

"Is it the negotiations?" Tsugaru inquired. It had all happened so quickly, that reality still hadn't quite hit him or the rest of his comrades. Before they were able to react, the enemy had already surrounded them, and all that kept this suffocating peace was the fact that their very own Army Minister was off to discuss the terms of a possible cease-fire with the opposing leader.

"Unconditional surrender," the man reported grimly. "It's over."

Tsugaru contemplated silently for a moment, sparing the blankets behind him a glance before turning back to his comrade. "Do you really mean that?"

The man smiled slightly. "You really are too loyal to your lords." He glanced behind him for any signs of activity in the empty corridor before continuing. "Of course several of our groups refuse to surrender, but they'll surely fall without the rest of our support. Going with them will be a death sentence."

"And the others?"

The man shrugged. "It's an unconditional surrender." He smiled when Tsugaru seemed to still be expecting another answer. "There's another group of us heading up north on the ships. Enomoto-san has refused to surrender all of his vessels. They'll be leaving tonight, so it's best to make up your mind before then."

"I see…"

"I'll be going also, Tsugaru-san. You should join us. There's no place for a foreigner-looking guy like you once the enemy's taken over. You're as good as dead."

"At the docks tonight?"

The man nodded.

Tsugaru bowed.

Izaya finally poked his head out from under the sheets, his red eyes gleaming from the sunlight.

"You're going?" Izaya asked after Tsugaru slid the paper door shut. "If its protection you want…" he trailed off.

"I owe my comrades so much. I cannot desert them now," Tsugaru answered as he crawled back into the futon. Just a few more minutes… hours… he told himself. He felt Izaya's heat against his back, and the slightest of tremors from the other's hands that caressed his skin gently.

"You're fighting for a lord who has abandoned you."

Tsugaru closed his eyes. "I fight for my friends."

He felt the other hesitate and rolled around, surrounding Izaya in an embrace. The demon relaxed under him, but the uneasiness that plagued them both did not disappear even as he captured the other's lips in his own.

.

The midday sun had already begun to fall as the two waited in the groove of cherry trees. Tsugaru only had several hours left before he had to make his decision, considering that it took another hour to walk to the meeting point. Izaya looked up from his lap, the rays of light that had escaped the branches reflecting off his red eyes.

"You should go," Izaya said.

"Why would you suggest that?" Tsugaru asked. He thought that the last thing his lover wanted was for him to leave.

"You'd never forgive yourself if you didn't," the demon answered simply.

Tsugaru smiled lightly. Having his doubts spoken so clearly to him only made him more uneasy. He decided to continue the trend anyway. "I'll be leaving you thought then. You'll have to wait again."

Izaya sat up slowly, his back to the samurai. The silhouette of the demon's horns and pointed ears were even more pronounced against the sunny land that extended beyond the shade of the cherry trees. "I can't bear to wait for you again."

Tsugaru hugged his lover from behind, unable to take the other's slumped profile any longer.

"Then come with me."

The demon chuckled. "Looking like this?"

"We'll figure something out."

* * *

><p>Sorry this is a tad later than I would've wanted it X.x. Anime Expo happened. And Devil Survivor 2, which I'm still constantly restarting. Yup.<p>

Thanks for reading!


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: Durarara! I don't own thee!

* * *

><p>"Wow! This looks pretty bad!" Shinra nearly sang when Izaya removed the handkerchief. The piece of cloth was beyond saving now, and the informant idly wondered whether or not he should buy Shiki a new vibrant one as a joke as Shinra examined his blood-caked hand. He didn't know why his friend even bothered; Shinra had known for years just how fast his cuts closed. "Did it go straight through? So much blood..." The childlike amazement the underground doctor had for his wounds never ceased to make Izaya sigh. "Ah, it healed already…" The disappointment that followed was never much of an improvement.<p>

"Yeah, let me use your sink." Izaya finally drew his hand back. He withdrew from the living room before Shinra had a chance to answer.

"I'm assuming you want that bandaged!" Shinra called after him, and Izaya heard shuffling in other room as the doctor went to retrieve his medical kit.

Izaya turned on the faucet in the bathroom and watched as the water ran red against the white porcelain. "Tch..." He clenched his teeth as he remembered exactly how careless he had been. The slumbering flame had ignited briefly during those short seconds; he had held back the last moment, just before his hand connected with the thug's chest.

"It's been a while since you've gotten this injured by another person besides Shizuo," Shinra commented as he wrapped the bandages over Izaya's nonexistent wound a few minutes later.

"Even I mess up every now and then," Izaya tried to wave it off, but he knew the other already suspected something the moment he walked through that door with the bloodied handkerchief.

"Is everything okay?" Their eyes met and Izaya found himself staring into a pair of honest wide eyes, genuine concern reflecting off of them. He didn't know what to tell Shinra. It wasn't something a human who had only lived two decades could understand. Yet, the other hit it right on the nail. "It's Shizuo again, eh?"

Izaya smiled. "Now why would you say that?"

The other returned with a knowing grin. "It's always Shizuo. You know, you could learn a thing or two about love from Celty and me..."

"For your information, Shizu-chan hits a lot harder than Celty does."

"You can take it."

Shinra looked up when the other didn't answer immediately. "It still hurts," he heard Izaya mutter, eyes downcast at his now neatly bandaged hand.

Shinra had offered to tell Shizuo before, but Izaya had adamantly refused, reasoning that it would be the end of the doctor were he to suddenly utter such nonsense to the fortissimo of Ikebukuro out of the blue. Besides, Shinra himself didn't know all the small details; most of his information came from Mamoru during the few occasions he had run into the older demon, and there was a gaping hole after Izaya had left Edo for the north with the one they called Tsugaru. Yet, he was certain of one thing that that had occurred during that time, and how it happened certainly had a great impact on Izaya to this day. The problem remained with finding out just how Tsugaru had died.

Shinra sighed, sipping his coffee in his now empty living room.

Over a century and still waiting... he himself would've search the ends of the earth if it were Celty.

Izaya was always a little strange to begin with, and he had a feeling that it was just going to get worse. He only hoped that he didn't have to sew too many people back together.

.

Izaya walked down the empty alley, his conversation with Shinra still weighing heavily on his mind. "He" was here, in this world, in the same city as him even. He should be happy, he told himself. Izaya remembered the first day he met Tsugaru's reincarnation, the scene as clear in his mind as the summer sky unobstructed by buildings so many years ago.

He was so happy. Hadn't he smiled? He... Izaya put a hand to his mouth, wondering just what had set the other off. Had they changed so much?

A century ago they were so close, so at peace even with war waging around them, and now, his whole world revolved around making Shizuo miserable when the other could be living a peaceful life in this peaceful post-war world.

"What am I doing..." He knew the answer. Yet, he couldn't bring himself to stop. He'd rather be the person Shizuo chased down the moment their eyes meet than just another person on the streets spying on the fortissimo of Ikebukuro from the shadows. He'd rather that he ruin the other's life than let another devour Tsugaru. Even he couldn't take such a betrayal.

Shizuo hated him. It was a fact he will never be able to change.

Izaya paused around the corner of another empty alley to collect his thoughts when he suddenly heard it again: footsteps. He gritted his teeth, deciding that he might as well confront the culprit now. At least it'll help him forget, even for a moment, he told himself.

"What do you want?" Izaya said out loud to the empty alley as his hand closed around the switchblade in his pocket. He heard shuffling and turned to face his stalker, who finally rounded the corner. His mouth drew into an amused smirk when he noted the confidence in the stranger's eyes. "This isn't the first time, is it? You're either actually very talented or very stupid."

The man smiled and drew closer, his hands hidden in his coat pocket. Izaya tried to detect the scent of gunpowder but found none. _'He's definitely hiding something in there…'_

"I've seen you often around Ikebukuro." Even the man's tone was smug. Izaya liked this. It would be so much more satisfying to pull that guy off his high horse and drag him around in the dirt.

The informant shrugged, his act flawless. "You see a lot of people in Ikebukuro."

"Ah, but not ones like you."

Izaya suppressed a disgusted sigh. He could almost feel the man's eyes all over him. "I'm a busy man, so I'll kindly ask you again: what do you want?"

"Straight to the point, eh?" The man chuckled. "Fine, then I'll be blunt too." He held out a hand.

"You need information?" Izaya tried to play around it. He changed his mind about the man's confidence. It was abhorrent, and now was not the best of times to annoy him as a human.

"Don't play dumb. You're a smart man. You know what I want."

"I'm afraid I don't quite understand," Izaya lied. He heard a crack in his pocket and relaxed his grip.

The man grinned. "Come with me. I'll help you forget about your 'Tsugaru.'"

Izaya froze and just barely managed to keep himself from asking where the man had gotten that information. He managed to compose himself and prepared to pick the details out of the worm when the man finally took his hands out of his pockets and produced a photo.

The blood red eyes that stared back at him were unmistakably his.

Izaya wrenched the photo out the man's hands, and in an instant, it laid in shreds on the floor. "How dare you," he hissed.

"I have backups," the man replied smugly. "And if you're not coming with me, I'll send them to all your clients, including that yakuza guy in the white suit. I'm sure they'll take the news well." He laughed when Izaya flinched. "To think that a demon could be so easily controlled by someone as little as me… You know that photo your dear 'monster' had was mine too, don't you?"

Izaya whipped out the switchblade from his pocket, and instead a shower of plastic and metal fell to the ground, bouncing off the concrete in a pile of dust. He had clenched way too hard earlier. _'Shit...'_ Izaya grimaced and dug for his spare when the man took a step back.

"I-I'll expose you!" he threatened, sweat rolling off his the side of his gruff face as he produced a gun. "They'll hunt you down, monster. You'll only have me. Yes, just..."

Izaya realized that the other knew how the switchblade had disintegrated. He took his hand out of his pocket, staring down the man and his gun. He hated guns. "You know, you should always gather the appropriate amount of information before acting," he said softly as he took a step forward.

"Tch…" the man's finger tightened on the trigger, but Izaya grabbed the other's wrist before he could fire.

"So, why don't you say that again? What were you going to do to me?" he asked slowly, eyes flashing.

"I-I'll…" the man stuttered, but he didn't relent, and the grip tightened. The man screamed and clawed at Izaya to make him let go. "I'll expose you to the world!"

Izaya smiled. "We can't have that now, can we?" _He felt it again._

_The anger... the flame that had burned all these years... kept silent only by sheer willpower and a last promise..._

"Izaya!" a familiar voice yelled just as a crack resounded through the alley. The man fell to his knees, sniveling as he clenched his broken arm, a trail of blood running down where the bone was protruding out.

Izaya came back to his senses and took a step back, looking at his own bloodied hand.

"Oh geez," Akabayashi said when he saw the damage.

"Izaya?" Izaya froze, dreading the person that rounded the corner after Akabayashi.

Akabayashi looked from one to another. "Ah, Shiki texted me saying that you injured your hand, and I happened to be talking to him at the time so…" He chuckled and grabbed the man on the ground, hoisting him up roughly after also grabbing the discarded gun. "Ah, this is one of our guns that went missing..."

"He knows..." Izaya muttered under his breath. Akabayashi's eyes narrowed when he noticed the shredded photo on the ground.

"I'll take care of this thing." The man whimpered when Akabayashi gave him a rough pull, the grin back on his face. "You two play nice, got it?"

Akabayashi's absence turned the atmosphere cold, and Shizuo struggled to find the right words to say to the flea while Izaya stared after the empty street corner, seemingly lost for words. He was here to talk, Shizuo told himself, not fight. Yet, looking at what Izaya had done to the stalker told him volumes. Maybe Akabayashi was right. Maybe he had been treating everything the wrong way. Izaya could have easily dealt with him years ago with that strength.

He tried to reason with himself. He can make amends. He's capable of doing that. Even if the flea had given him hell all these years… _'Okay, just have to take that first step…'_ Whether he was lying to himself at the moment, he told himself just to be calm enough to get some answers. Maybe there was more to Izaya than what he had been seeing.

"Fl... Izaya…" he began hesitantly, reach out to Izaya's furry hood.

"Get away from me!" Izaya suddenly snapped, swinging his second switchblade in an arc that just missed his bowtie.

"Why you little…" Shizuo snarled, his resolve crumbling to dust. "I just wanted to talk, flea!"

"There's nothing to say. You've already seen everything," Izaya growled. "There's no need for you talk to a 'monster,'" the last word came out as an audible choke, and he held a hand up to his mouth. "Tch..." He turned around and fled.

"Wait, Izaya!" he yelled, pursuing, but the flea had disappeared.

He had never seen Izaya move so fast.

And, those blood red eyes that didn't want to look, yet held so much longing in their depths… he had seen them for sure this time.

.

Enomoto's fleet escapes to the North, 1868. May.

The two reached the top of the last hill and came upon the ships in the harbor, ready to disembark. Izaya pulled his hat further over his eyes and took a deep breath. He was going to go farther than any of his own clan had ever been, away from the protective clutches of his mother's domain. He wondered if another clan resided that far north. He hadn't bothered to pay Edo's demons a visit, knowing that Mamoru had already taken care of it for him.

The sound of footsteps stopped him. He knew who had come.

"Izaya-sama!"

He turned. "Mamoru…"

His long time friend frowned. "You can't go with him. You know your mother only allowed you to come to Edo because the eastern clan is here, but there's none of our kind up north."

"I…" Izaya hesitated. He had denied his mother's wishes in the past, but never to this extent. He admitted to himself that he did have his doubts about the north. His knowledge of the human world, although growing, was still small, and if anyone were to suspect him, Tsugaru would be put in danger too.

He looked up when the one beside him moved. Tsugaru had positioned himself between the two of them, a human between two demons of the West.

"I'll protect him."

Mamoru's eyes narrowed. "Do you understand what will be asked of you, if your comrades were to find out about Izaya-sama's state? Could you betray them to protect him?"

Tsugaru seemed resolute. "I'll protect both of them."

Mamoru looked sad. "It won't be as easy as you make it out to be when the time comes."

Izaya held onto Tsugaru's sleeve, his eyes defiant. The older demon sighed. He recognized that look. It was the same the late king had given him right before the humans took him away from their world. If the same thing were to happen to Izaya… His gaze shifted to the samurai who had stolen the demon prince away from them. _'No… it's different…'_

He backed down. "I'll be awaiting your return in Edo after the strife is over." He bowed. "Please return safely..."

.

Izaya looked out to the ocean once again in just a year. He had traveled more in the past two months than he had his entire life. A warm hand on his shoulder prompted him to lean back onto the boat.

"Are you enjoying the breeze?" Tsugaru asked him.

Izaya closed his eyes, keeping a hold on his hat lest the wind snatched it away. "This is the second time I've been on a ship." His hands were covered by the long sleeves of his red kimono, his face by the sedge hat, the few things that separated him from the world. "Your comrades didn't question…"

"Nobuo must have told them in advance."

"Nobuo?"

"The one who told me about the ships this morning."

"Oh… where is he now?"

Tsugaru looked away. "He stayed in Edo."

"Eh? Didn't he say he was leaving with..."

"Some of his friends refused to leave, and he didn't want to desert them."

Izaya closed his mouth, not knowing what to say. His clan had never encountered anything of the sort; they had already fought out their lands long before and had been lingering in a suffocating peace as far back as Izaya could remember. Also, although demons were loyal to each other, but they don't have many chances to show it.

The two remained silent as the boats continued their slow journey up, and Izaya preoccupied himself with watching the waves when he suddenly felt that someone was watching him. He knew the ship's inhabitants were no doubt curious about the "friend" Tsugaru had brought on board, but this was different. It nearly sent a chill down his spine.

He proceeded to glance behind him when a voice made him jump.

"Tsugaru! I'm glad you decided to come!"

Tsugaru turned around and smiled when he saw the voice's owner. "Oh, Yoichi."

The man named Yoichi smiled, and his eyes traveled to Izaya. Izaya wasn't quite good at reading humans, but he had the faintest feeling that those eyes were not smiling as much as the man's mouth was. "So this is your lover?" Yoichi asked, the grin unwavering.

Tsugaru blushed, and Izaya followed suite despite himself. He had never seen the other so flustered before.

Yoichi laughed. "Hey, I'm fine with it. Nobuo told me you had a lover in Edo. He's a little dense though, so he's probably never realized just who you were." He looked to the ocean, his gaze distant. "Well, enjoy yourselves while you can," he said as he turned to walk away. "Never know when battle's going to erupt these days, eh?"

Izaya stared after Yoichi's retreating back, unable to hold down the frown that had finally crept up on his face. "He's perceptive," he commented.

"We've known each other for a while now. I met him in Edo."

"I see..."

"He's a nice guy," Tsugaru said, weaving his hand into Izaya's as he returned his gaze to the ocean. Izaya squeezed the other's hand gently, shifting so that their kimono sleeves could hide it more readily.

He tried to preoccupy himself with the ocean once more, but he could not let go of the uneasy feeling those pair of eyes gave him.

_'Mamoru...'_ He hoped his friend was wrong.

* * *

><p>Hello! I am alive! I am... alive... Yup! It's hot T.T<p>

Thanks for reading!


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: Durarara! I don't own thee!

Author's notes: *series spoilers* Izaya's mother's name in canon is Kyouko.

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><p>Mamoru made his way down the streets of Ikebukuro reluctantly, taking care to avoid the alleys lest he ran into anyone too familiar. He hadn't intend to get off at the station earlier, but his legs unconsciously took him off the train and through the ticket gates, so he decided to at least go see his son one last time before talking to Izaya. He looked forward to neither discussion.<p>

He couldn't believe that his queen would make the decision so early; things had been going perfectly well the past few decades between the Western and Eastern clans, even after the matriarch of the strongest clan in the East, the Orihara family, decided to wed a human. Izaya's mother had gone so far even as to allow her only son at that time to stay with the half demon daughter of the matriarch so that Izaya could learn how to better blend in with the growing number of humans in Edo. He supposed she had no choice; Izaya had adamantly refused to return any further East after the "incident" a century ago. Her words didn't affect him them and certainly wouldn't change his mind now, so why would she even attempt such a plan? Not to mention, if Izaya were to return, there would certainly be succession issues with the current heir.

Izaya's stepfather was a mild mannered kind of guy, but anyone could be swayed by power. Mamoru sighed and attempted to mentally shake off all the negative thoughts that had started flooding his mind the moment he stepped into Ikebukuro. He supposed he had watched a little too many of the dramas his son had sent him.

"Mamoru-san!" a pair of voices called out to him in unison, and he nearly cursed out loud at himself for being so careless. Of Ikebukuro's inhabitants, the Orihara twins were two of the ones he least wanted to run into.

"Kururi-sama, Mairu-sama," he bowed, unwilling to meet their eyes when he straightened up again.

"Is it true?" Kururi asked quietly; Mamoru could see her twiddling her thumbs as she waited for his answer.

"Is what true?" he decided to feign ignorance. The two most likely overheard their elders talking since Kyouko was resolute in keeping the two in the dark about their family's heritage. That meant that they only knew part of what was going on, and he figured it was best if they knew nothing more.

"We overheard Grandma and Mom arguing the other day."

"Oh?" It didn't particularly surprise him that the matriarch of the Orihara clan would be arguing with her half-blooded daughter, one who had tried to "fit in" with the humans all her life. Kyouko was adamant about assimilating with what she called the "normal world," while her mother, a pure-blooded demon, still had strong ties with the old way despite surprising their world and marrying a human, now long deceased. It was all Kyouko could do to hide everything from her own husband, a regular salaryman working in a well-established company in Tokyo.

"Yes yes! Mom said she wants Iza-nii to go back! He can't go back yet! We need him as an offering to Shizuo to let us meet Kasuka!" Mairu exclaimed, the sparks flying in her eyes when she uttered the actor's name.

Mamoru chuckled. "What a reason."

"So you can't let him go back!"

"Don't take Iza-nii away," Kururi added.

Mamoru scratched his head, frowning. "That would be his choice."

"Then convince him not to leave!" Mairu concluded.

"Or don't even tell him," her sister continued.

Mamoru hesitated. There was no way he could promise the two that he wouldn't tell Izaya, but what kind of argument could he come up with to convince them otherwise? He took a deep breath. "Izaya-sama is..."

"We know he's not really our brother!" the two said in unison.

Mamoru was dumbstruck; he hadn't expected the Orihara matriarch to be that careless. He lowered his voice, glancing behind him for any eavesdroppers before continuing. "How much do you know?"

"Iza-nii's the prince of some secret clan in the West, and he stayed with us so that he could get along better with the commoners," Mairu told him.

Mamoru supposed that this wasn't too bad. "Oh well then..."

"And he's a demon like Grandma," Kururi landed the final blow.

The older demon stared down at the two, appalled by just how much they knew. What have they done with such information? He had heard many stories of the Orihara twins, and he wouldn't put it past them to leak such information if it meant that they would get what they wanted. He first had to make sure of something.

"Does your father know?"

"Oh don't worry. He still doesn't know anything about anything," Mairu said. "Good thing he works so much."

"Like Iza-nii," Kururi mumbled.

The gesture caught Mamoru a little off guard, and he finally smiled, understanding the two's genuine intentions. "So you do care about him."

"Is that a yes?" Mairu asked, her eyes glistening with excitement.

Mamoru shook his head. "Like I said, it's up to Izaya-sama."

"Aw, you tricked us!" Kururi pouted.

"We'll just have to kidnap him and hide him somewhere!" her sister declared.

.

Izaya clicked the send button and proceeded on to his next job, nearly missing Namie announcing her departure.

"Sheesh, you better remember to eat," she hissed when she saw the untouched plate on his desk.

"Yeah yeah," Izaya waved her off, and the door closed promptly after. He reread his current reply one more time before hovering over the send button. If he clicks, the man would be at the bottom of Tokyo Bay before the day was over.

His hand tightened on the mouse, the same hand that had snapped that man's arm just the day prior. Normally, he'd ask Shiki to lighten up on the punishments with the reason that he could potentially use such people later, but at the moment the narrow bridge between the choices of life and death for the unfortunate man who crossed his path was finally starting to crumble.

"Tsugaru..." he muttered, remembering for a moment. His heart clenched, and he hesitated.

_The look Shizu-chan had given him after he snapped the man's hand... those wide eyes, an expression he had never seen before flashing across the other's face... _

Shizu-chan must have realized now that the one who had been calling him monster all these years was a monster himself. He knew he had taken the wrong path years ago during that first day of Raira when Shizuo sprang at him and he reacted. Now, even the miniscule chances of him seeing Tsugaru again have disappeared.

A new email notification lit up on screen. Izaya clicked "send" before moving on.

He didn't care anymore. Even human observation proved useless this time around, and it was all he could do to keep on working so that his mind would wander somewhere else besides sinking in the past. His cell phone rang just as he finished reading the email from Shiki, and he picked it up in a fit of annoyance. Shiki's email had not particularly helped him keep his thoughts off of Tsugaru, and now the one who had led Shizuo to that alley just the other day was here to add to his stress.

"What?"

"Ah... I'm sure you've heard the news already..." Akabayashi's voice answered him reluctantly on the other end.

"Then why are you interrupting just as I was about to gather information on Akane's supposed assassins?"

"Eh? Shiki sent you that job? Sheesh, I told him not to..."

This confused Izaya. Just why had Akabayashi called then?

"Ah, have you seen my father yet?"

This was news to him. "He's back in Edo already?"

"Well... yeah..." Akabayashi sounded uncharacteristically unenthusiastic. He was always thrilled whenever Mamoru visited, as much as he tried to hide it. Izaya couldn't blame him though. It was amazing that he had received so much care from Mamoru since Izaya's clan shunned any mingling with humans, and Akabayashi's human blood stood out as a blatant example of that.

"What's wrong?"

"Ah... I guess I'll let him tell you... Do me a favor and try to hold off seeing him for a few more days, okay? The train tickets are all sold out this week."

"Okay?" Izaya agreed, still confused.

"Thanks."

Izaya stared at his phone for a moment, even more intrigued now to talk with Mamoru. Yet, Akabayashi's tone kept him on edge. As much as he wanted to take his mind off of Tsugaru by meeting his long time friend, something just seemed off about all this.

He sighed and decided to return to Shiki's request. It wasn't that he was particularly worried about the girl, but if completing this job meant that a few more humans would meet their end, then it was all well to him.

_'They should pay for what they did to Tsugaru...'_

Izaya closed his eyes. He was there again... _the warmth was red, sticky... His hands were coated in it..._

_Blood... it was all he could see before he lunged...  
><em>

He stopped, burying his face in his hands. "What am I doing?"

No matter how many of them he killed, Tsugaru was never coming back.

.

At Sendai, 1868. Late August.

Izaya breathed in the warm late summer air as he settled down next to one of the larger cherry trees in the dense forest, finally completely shielded from the eyes of the inhabitants of Sendai. Tsugaru had once again splurged, with the help of some of his comrades, on a small room for the two of them in the city since lodging at the castle was out of the question; there were just too many people running about. The last thing either of them wanted was someone to accidentally knock off Izaya's sedge hat.

Izaya had laid the hat in question on the grass next to him, and he enjoyed the wind on his forehead from the liberation as he yawned, listening to the quiet rustling of the leaves with the coming of a light summer breeze. To be truthful, he missed this kind of tranquility. It wasn't to say that he disliked his current lodgings; he didn't mind the city at all, since there were more than enough interesting humans going on about their usual, albeit fascinating, business. However, even he felt compelled to escape to this nearby forest on a sunny day like this after being stuck in the confines of a human ship for the past few months.

Besides, Tsugaru currently had patrol duty, and as much as he wanted to join in, there was no way the two of them could explain to the others how bringing a "companion" was going to not hinder their fighting should anything happen. Tsugaru had one of his rarer wide grins on his face when Izaya brought up the topic.

_"I think we'd end up being the ones hindering you if there was a fight," _the samurai had said.

Izaya smiled. It had been a year since that meeting under the cherry tree in Kyoto, one year since he had to raise his hand against a human. It was definitely pleasant that he didn't have to kill them on sight now. He gazed up into the vast network of branches, the sky just barely peaking through the leaves. This tree was a little smaller than the one in Kyoto he noted.

His sensitive ears suddenly picked up rustling in the bushes, and he slipped the sedge hat back on, readying his muscles to attack. He decided last minute that running posed a better choice; what if it was one of Tsugaru's comrades? Sure enough, a few seconds later Yoichi emerged from the bushes, the usual grin cemented on his young features.

"Ah, what a coincidence," the newcomer said, giving his surroundings a glance. "You like walks in the forest too?"

Izaya relaxed just enough to keep his legs from violently propelling him off the ground. "It's refreshing," he replied as he managed to stand up naturally and brushed off a few leaves with his sleeves.

"It's quite sunny today though, are you sure you're okay in this kind of heat?" Yoichi asked, leaning in a little in what seemed like an attempt to look under Izaya's hat. Izaya instinctively withdrew and lowered his head slightly, causing the other to grin. "Tsugaru said you don't like sun much, so you always wear that hat." He pointed to his own head, the beads of sweat glistening slightly as they dripped down the side of his temple.

"Ah, once in a while is fine," Izaya replied, feeling sweat start to form on his own skin from nervousness. Had he seen?

"Yes yes, the outdoors is something to be enjoyed," Yoichi nodded in agreement as he straightened up and stretched. "Well then, I suppose I'll accompany you back to the city then. Tsugaru will be returning soon, yes?"

"Yes. Thank you very much," Izaya replied, remembering to bow slightly. He didn't care how the humans viewed him really, and he found a tiny bit of bowing eased their minds. He supposed humans enjoyed feeling that they had power over the fellow man, and if it was going to keep Tsugaru from getting in trouble, small gestures like this meant nothing to him. However, with Yoichi, he really didn't know what to do. This man was different, dangerous...

Izaya trailed behind Yoichi awkwardly, glancing to his sides for any signs of other humans. He had only saw the other twice after the boat ride, and Tsugaru was with him both times. Izaya moved his hat a little lower over his eyes. He also wasn't sure if the other had seen anything. He feared Yoichi suspected something, but for some reason the other still hadn't acted yet.

Izaya had only managed to write to Mamoru once during a chance encounter he had with another demon of the Western clan, one from the Orihara Family to note, who had by chance traveled up to Sendai for a quick assessment of the war. But, that was only a one way message, and he wondered if the other was even allowed to send a reply. They were quite far North now; it was the devil's luck that he had even met the messenger.

"It must be tough, being so far away from your family," Yoichi's voice broke through his reverie. "They must be so worried about you."

"Ah, they are actually," Izaya replied, thinking of his mother. She must be furious with her son's antics this past year. Then again, it had been a long time since she was okay with anything he did.

"You do send them letters, don't you?"

"Ah..." Izaya hesitated. "Yes..."

Yoichi chuckled, his expression indiscernible. "That's good."

The two of them continued in silence back to the city, and Yoichi blended right back into its bustling depths after bidding Izaya a quick goodbye.

* * *

><p>Hello! X.X Sorry this is so late *sniff* but it's finally up!<p>

Thanks for reading!


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: Durarara! I don't own thee!

* * *

><p>Izaya found himself outside on the streets of Ikebukuro, furry hood pulled over his head and hands stuffed into his pockets. Shiki had been so preoccupied with the new information he had sent them that the executive didn't bother forwarding him any new requests, and Izaya finally opted to search for something else to keep this thoughts away from the past. However, his aimless walking took him all the way to the one place he knew he should avoid, like a moth to a flame.<p>

He turned the corner, wondering if he should pay Shinra a visit. _'But what if Shizu-chan is there?'_ He doubted it, knowing Shizuo's work schedule by heart, but there was always the rare chance that one of Tom's clients decided to pull out a knife. Strong as he was, Shizuo's dulled pain receptors did him no favors when it came to avoidable injuries.

Izaya remembered the first time he had drawn a weapon against Shizuo, back at Raira. It had been a reflex, and he recalled the distinct feeling of fear through his initial anger after the blade had ran through Shizuo's shirt. He should've known then just how resilient the Fortissimo of Ikebukuro was. Shizuo was never as human as Tsugaru was.

He sighed, shaking the memories away. The more he thought about, the more obvious it seemed. The two had nothing in common except for their appearances. For all he knew, maybe Shizu-chan had someone else's soul inside of him. Izaya frowned.

If that was the case, then Tsugaru was truly gone. Shizu-chan was just another human. The thought made him stop in his tracks. The overwhelming sensation of loss that had been washing over him all these years came again like a massive wave, knocking him deep into the abyss of this empty world. He felt his control waver, and could only pull his hands into his sleeves to hide the flickering change.

"Izaya!" Shizuo's roar brought him back from his sorrow's prison. He sensed something different about the other's tone, but he cared too little now to dig.

He didn't bother to run. He was tired, far too tired. Shizuo seemed to sense this, and his expression softened as he reached Izaya; after a moment the two were standing face to face, the air around them completely tranquil for the first time in a century.

"Listen, let's talk." Izaya looked into the other's eyes: warm brown orbs that burned with a fiery passion. He reached up on instinct, as if he were amazed to get so close to those eyes without suffering an attempted murder. Shizuo frowned at the gesture, completely unaware of all the thoughts that ran through Izaya's head. The waves were long gone. They were never even here to begin with. The demon stopped and withdrew his hand just before his flickering clawed fingertips grazed the other's cheek. He understood now.

"Sorry..." the words left his lips with a definite conclusive air.

"What?" The air shivered, and Izaya knew for sure now that his initial assessment was wrong. Shizuo was Shizuo, a raging force of power in the human world. That calming warmth that he had longed to touch for all these years would never come back to him.

"I'm sorry..." Izaya looked away from those eyes. This was it. "It was foolish of me to expect..."

"Wait, we haven't even said anything yet!" Shizuo exclaimed.

"I was wrong..."

"Izaya!" The Fortissimo of Ikebukuro's frustration shone through his voice in a tone unlike any Tsugaru would have ever given him.

Izaya felt his own heartbeat quickening. "Tsugaru… Tsugaru is gone!"

"He's... I'm right here right?" Shizuo replied, desperately trying to find some common ground between them. Izaya could see the other's irritation starting to go up even more. Soon they'll be chasing each other, just like before. "Didn't you say so yourself? Stop making things worse, you damned flea!"

"He's gone," Izaya could feel the finality of those words going straight to his stomach. He felt sick with heartache, and it was all he could do to keep the tears in this time around.

"Izaya, you asshole, stop playing games with..." Shizuo didn't catch the change that went through Izaya.

"I'm not!" Izaya yelled so suddenly that Shizuo stopped, gawking. The demon prince held his chest and tried to calm himself down, but the realization just wouldn't stop overflowing over him.

Tsugaru was gone, and Shizuo, reincarnation or not, was never going to be him. The false hope Izaya had held onto all these years finally shattered, and all he could see was a pathless road with no destination in sight.

"Izaya!" Tsugaru was gone. He had been gone for over a century now, and he was never coming back.

"I… hate you…" Izaya felt his voice come out as a broken sob, but he couldn't stop. "Humans…" He remembered that day, so many years ago. "I hate you all…"

"Hey, Izaya…" Even the brute seemed to have caught on to his strange behavior. "What are you saying? You love humans, right?" He actually sounded worried, Izaya noted, but even concern from someone who had hated him all his life did nothing to stop the onslaught of despair he felt now. The flood gates had opened, and he had lost the ability to close them any longer. It had been too long.

"I…" he crumpled to his knees, wishing for the earth to swallow him up so that he wouldn't feel anymore. "I've had enough of living under this fucking lie. Humans…" He suddenly realized the hands before him on the ground have become claw-like, and he could see the silhouette of horns on his shadow. He shuddered. "I hate you all. Tsugaru… I…" Before he could control himself, the tears fell and his voice choked. He couldn't say it. "Tsugaru…" he nearly pleaded. Where was his Tsugaru? What was he doing, waiting so long like this?

Shizuo considered the informant for a moment, completely unsure of what to do. He had never seen Izaya like this, and any other day he would've picked up a vending machine without a second thought.

"Shizuo!" someone yelled his name just as he decided to reach a hand out to the flea. They both looked up to see a familiar face coming towards them from the street.

"Akane!" Shizuo called out beside him. It was then Izaya finally felt his vibrating phone. He picked it up on instinct, not caring to utter a greeting as he held it to his ear.

"Izaya! They got away in this truck- Akane's outside today, do you know where she is?"

"She's here," he breathed.

"She's what? Well hurry and tell her to go back..."

He heard them coming; he was in his demon form so he knew. The revving of the engine, the reveled low voiced cheer at finally finding their target, a soft click of the trigger as a finger slid into place... he heard them all. The truck sped up, and Akane turned just in time to see the vehicle racing towards her. He looked up and saw Shizuo yelling and running towards the intersection. Even with that monstrous strength, there was no way the other could make it there in time, and the stupid girl just wouldn't move.

After she died, Shizuo would no doubt hate himself for failing to protect the girl, probably for the rest of his life. It was the ultimate revenge, this feeling Izaya had held on to so tightly these past 100 years. It was...

_'I don't want you to feel what I have felt...'_

Izaya moved.

.

At Hakodate, 1868. Late December.

Even Izaya could tell the end was coming soon. The army had trekked across almost all of Japan, and the constant reinforcing of the harbor only gave him more evidence that they were preparing for the last fight. Tsugaru hadn't been talking as much as he used to, also sensing the inevitable doom they all faced on this frozen land, their only escape blocked by the endless sea.

This particular day Izaya found himself hiking a few miles from the city, once again alone due to Tsugaru's busy schedule. The occasional ventures calmed him and took his mind off the heavy blanket of death that surrounded them all. He thought of his family back in the West, most likely worried sick about their son's whereabouts. Izaya lightly chuckled to himself. The idea that a demon had followed a mere human so far across Japan into the jaws of death must have baffled any demon that heard the story.

He had written to Mamoru when he found the opportunity, and by luck, a reply came back to him, urging him to return home. The way he saw it now, escaping their currently situation was bleak, especially with all the upgraded security in the harbor. He could only hope to ride out the last battle safely from the sidelines.

Of course, if anyone were to lay a finger on Tsugaru he'd be the first to slit their throats. Izaya frowned. He couldn't possibly keep his lover away from the battle; they needed every man they could get. Did that mean he would have to fight an army on his own? He's never had to deal with cannons before.

"Venturing out alone again?" a familiar voice prompted him to turn around. He had been so preoccupied with his own thoughts that he didn't even hear Yoichi approach. Izaya smiled and stood his ground, instantly throwing up all of his mental defenses.

"It calms me."

"Of course," the samurai replied, looking back behind him to the harbor. "There's too much to think about these days." He gave Izaya an indiscernible smile. "May I join you?"

"I do not see why not," Izaya replied despite alarms going off in his head. The city disappeared behind them as they walked deeper into the untamed countryside, the sound of snow crunching under their feet the only familiar sensation. They finally stopped before a frozen river, a massive winter-stripped tree looming over them, reminiscent of the vibrant lush landscape of last spring.

Yoichi stopped here, arms hidden inside the sleeves of his kimono for warmth. Izaya could almost hear the other's heart beating around them in the quiet landscape. They stood in silence for a while, the shuffling of snow from Yoichi's occasional shiver their only other companion. The samurai finally sighed deeply and clapped his hands together resolutely.

"I tried really hard, you know, to hate you."

"Huh?" Izaya had suspected as much for a while, but hearing the other outright admit surprised him. He had never known humans could be so blunt.

Yoichi laughed heartily at the other's flabbergasted expression, clutching his stomach for support. Izaya chose to wait until the other had finished, even more unsure of why Yoichi chose now of all times to tell him this. The samurai finally stopped, wiping his eyes with a sleeve. "I apologize. It has been too long." He took a moments to collect himself before continuing. "All these years I kept telling myself that it was his fault, your people's fault, that my father died."

Izaya stared at him quietly, his features calm but his muscles ready to spring at any moment. He cursed himself for not being more careful from the beginning, for ignoring all the little strange signals the other had been sending him. Yet, the look Yoichi had on his face, the frustration and anger at his father's death, was not directed at Izaya. His gaze pierced somewhere in the distance, far away from the demon. Izaya thought carefully about what Yoichi said. He couldn't understand how any of them could have killed a human unprovoked, unless it was one of those men that had been chasing Tsugaru way back on the day they first met. He wasn't very good at reading ages, but he was certain at least that none of them were old enough to be Yoichi's father. So that would mean... Izaya finally realized what Yoichi was talking about. There was only one instance in recent history that a demon besides himself caused a stir in the human world.

"You knew my father."

Yoichi finally looked at him, and Izaya saw tired eyes. "Almost," he replied. "My father knew your father. They were best friends."

Izaya took in a deep breath. He had only heard the stories from Mamoru, and even then the subject was kept hushed up by his mother.

"They were both killed on the same day because someone found out about my father," Izaya said, trying to remember if Mamoru had told him anything else that was less superficial.

Yoichi laughed at the demon's hesitation. "No need to think so hard. That really is what happened." He kicked a rock peeping out from under the snow, sending it rolling down the slight incline towards the river. "I blamed you, you know, for as long as I could remember. Why did your father have to play around in our world? Why couldn't his kind just keep blending into the background like they've been doing?"

Izaya bit his lip at that statement. They had be doing just that for as long as their history had been recorded. He didn't see why they had to face such challenges. Demons exist in this world just as humans do. Why did they have to be the ones to hide? He clenched his fists. He seriously hoped Yoichi wasn't about to try anything stupid now.

However, the samurai did not seem to notice Izaya's anger.

"I thought about it very hard these past few months. You should know, I even considered setting the town against you, that one time we were in the forest." The man's eyes were downcast, like a guilty child. "But, at the last moment, I could not bring myself to do it."

Izaya let out his breath, confused. "Why?" he finally managed.

Yoichi snorted. "No honest man like Tsugaru would ever fall in love with a demon unless there was truly something good about you." He shook his head. "No, he's only part of the reason. I mean, he is a good friend, but..." he trailed of, trying to find the right words.

"It was not my father's fault. They were good friends," Izaya told him as his eyes trailed to the sheathed sword at Yoichi's side. "It was neither of them that drew the blade."

Yoichi shook his head. "You're right. It was humans." His fists clenched at his sides. "It was their fault." Izaya could feel the anger almost radiating from the other, like an angry aura. "They are the reason for this war too! Selfishness and ignorance runs through their veins. They act without thinking, relying only on their own misconceptions. They create their own worlds, their own stories, just to benefit themselves." He motioned to the sea in the distance. "You know they are coming, don't you? We are all going to be slaughtered here when the ships arrive. Me, Tsugaru, all of our comrades..." He took a deep breath before spitting out his next words. "I hate humans."

Izaya blinked at this. He could not comprehend what Yoichi had just said. How could a human hate humans? Demons were completely fine with each other's existences. Sure, once in a while one of them defected and did something stupid, but that was no reason to pull the rest of the clan into the conflict. Izaya did not blame the entire human race for his father's death. He did not know who actually killed the two, so he could never find a place to direct his anger towards. It left him with a void that he had locked away, never to be opened. He searched for an explanation to Yoichi's hatred of his own race but found none.

He heard a rustle in the bushes followed by quickened footsteps. Yoichi paid it no mind, his hearing not as good as the demons, and Izaya debated whether or not he should go after the culprit.

"Let's head back," the samurai told him before he could react. "Tsugaru would miss you."

* * *

><p>T.T I apologize for the long wait *cough* 3 years *cough*. I'm trying to write a little everyday but no guarantees for now. I do have the drafts for the next few chapters so I'm hoping to update at at least every 2 weeks. Kyaaah X.X life. Must enjoy life.<p>

As always, thanks for reading!


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: Durarara! I don't own thee!

* * *

><p>The oncoming truck seemed to move in slow motion towards Akane as Shizuo urged his feet to carry him faster to her side. His shoes finally touched the sidewalk just as the vehicle sped past him, screeching to a stop as the fortissimo of Ikebukuro stared wide-eyed at the spot where the girl had stood.<p>

"Akane!" He looked around wildly for her battered body and found the girl on the other side of the road, shaken but otherwise okay as Izaya placed her back down on the pavement. _'What the...'_ He swore the other had been next to him a just moment ago watching the same scene. He never pictured the flea to be the type who saved people like that, nor did he know Izaya could move that fast.

"How the fuck did you miss her?" someone yelled before he could assess the rest of the situation. The sliding door of the vehicle swung open, and Shizuo saw the glint of metal a second too late before the deafening roar followed. He ran towards the truck as another bang mercilessly replicated the first, and then another, and another, until the click of the empty barrel echoed throughout the street.

"You!" Shizuo grabbed the bumper before the driver could press on the gas, and with a deafening yell, he threw the entire car across the road. It landed on its side, screeching as it slid over the sidewalk before it finally came to a halt against one of the buildings. Not bothering to make sure if he had accidentally killed anyone, he ran over to Akane and Izaya, hoping the damage wasn't too bad. Izaya was a "demon" right? He could feel the color drain from his face even with that thought. That man had fired four... no, five times.

"Akane!" he gasped when he reached them, and the girl nodded at him shakily, not knowing what to do with the pile of fur slumped over her small frame. _'Okay at least she's still breathing,' _he thought in relief, but the realization of what lay over her hit him.

"Oi, Izaya!" he growled as he pulled the informant off Akane.

"H-he shielded me," the girl stuttered. Shizuo glanced her over, not noticing any bullet wounds among the splashes of blood that covered her uniform. "I-I'm okay. Please..." She looked at Izaya, eyes wide with worry.

"Yo, wake up!" Shizuo tried again, giving the still mass a shake, and the wounds finally came into view. "Shit..." The growing pools of blood had nearly blended into the black jacket, sprawled across the flea's back. _'Damn why does he always have to wear black?' _He drew one hand away, now drenched with the red liquid. _'Demons heal pretty fast, right?'_ He considered giving the flea another shake but decided against it. Izaya was still bleeding. "Izaya!" he called out, not bothering to hide the desperation in his voice. This wasn't like him, Shizuo thought. Any other day, he would've been happy that the flea was dead.

_Tear-stained blood red eyes stared back at him._

_"Please don't die." Izaya sobbed. "Please... Tsugaru..."_

_He smiled softly, the wind picking up around them as a swarm of petals covered the air like a light spring rain of soft pink. His heart almost gave way under the swarm of emotions that clutched it. He would leave Izaya behind, alone in this world of humankind, surrounded by a constant reminder of that day. He couldn't have that. He needed to make sure the demon never succumbed to such thoughts of hatred and vengeance. He already knew how that felt too well, so many years ago in Kyoto when he saw his family fall before him._

_"Promise me..." he whispered. He had to make sure. He knew it a selfish wish, but he refused to let his love become a monster._

The informant finally coughed; his first sign of life sprayed blood on the pavement. "Hey! Stay awake!" Shizuo yelled, whipping out his cell phone with his free hand as he supported Izaya back to the ground the with the other. He knew the flea wouldn't die. He just had to get the bastard to Shinra, and everything would be right again. That's right, everything...

"Die, monster!" They looked up to see one of the men pointing a gun at them, having somehow dug his way out of the steaming metal wreck across the street.

"Stay back," Shizuo told Akane as he moved in front of her after gently laying Izaya on the pavement. He wasn't going to let any more people get hurt here.

"No! Shizuo!" Akane screamed when the man's finger moved on the trigger. She felt a wind move past them, and the man fell backwards as Izaya slammed his head into the pavement with a sickening crack. The gun moved up and fired blindly right into the demon's side before it finally fell uselessly to the floor, crushed between a broken wrist and claws.

"Ah, really... " Izaya gasped, "hate guns." He threw himself away from the man, trying to regain his footing. The demon prince stumbled a few steps in an attempt to escape the scene and fell into a heap, blood pooling around him.

"Izaya!" he could hear the fortissimo of Ikebukuro call his name.

_'Shit...'_ He thought, finding his body unresponsive and his vision fading once again. He saw fiery brown eyes, a raging sea of emotions churning within them. _'Why now...'_ Everything faded to black.

.

At Hakodate, 1869. Mid-February.

"It's getting more difficult to leave the city," Yoichi gasped as Izaya waited for him to catch his breath. The two of them had made a dash for it when the guard finally turned away to deal with some bickering soldiers, but Izaya had taken off much faster than Yoichi deemed possible, and he found himself struggling to keep up with what looked like a casual jog for the demon. "Just how fast can you move?"

"What to do you mean?" Izaya asked, completely unaware of the physical effort the other had to undertake.

"Nevermind," Yoichi muttered, opting to lean against one of the large trees for support.

"Shouldn't your friends let you out without any questioning?" Izaya asked, assuming that Yoichi was still feeling the adrenaline rush from escaping the guards earlier. "Just tell them you're going for a walk."

The other man smiled as he rested his eyes and took a deep breath, feeling his heart finally calming before he answered. "Actually, I'm not on particularly good terms with anyone."

"Eh? Tsugaru thinks you're a good guy," Izaya commented, shrugging.

Yoichi laughed. "He knows what I think about the war."

"But you're here." Izaya hesitated. "And so is Tsugaru." He had thought he understood Tsugaru before when the samurai told him that he had a duty to fulfill for these men, but truthfully he had not expected the two of them to end up at the opposite end of the Japan, so many kilometers away from their original homes.

"Like lost leaves carried by the wind," Yoichi nearly sang, interrupting Izaya's thoughts.

Izaya sighed, wondering if he should even bother replying to that comment. He found that Yoichi tended to speak abstractly, and sometimes he had a difficult time understanding what the human thought. He didn't mind, though, and Tsugaru seemed happy enough that the two of them had finally started getting along.

"I have no other place to go." Yoichi said simply. "After the incident, my mother took me to Edo, away from the main family. They had covered up my father's death, saying that the demon killed him in cold blood."

"Why did you have to leave then?" The way Izaya saw it, if they had covered up the incident, then they were pretty much in the clear.

Yoichi's features darkened. "Because my mother knew what happened."

"Pardon?" He did not expect this.

"She knew he was friends with a demon."

"Wasn't she afraid?" Izaya asked a little hesitantly, not liking where this was going.

Yoichi smiled bitterly. "Of course she was afraid. She was the one who told them after all."

The demon prince fell silent at this.

"She thought my father was being manipulated, so she tried get rid of the demon. She never expected her husband to stand up for your father. It was a disaster."

"Oh." The atmosphere remained taciturn, neither willing to continue the conversation. _'So she's the reason for his hatred of demons. Makes sense...'_ Izaya thought to himself. He was thankful that Yoichi had turned out this way instead, but the revelation still depressed him even more than when he first found out about the other's background. A few birds in the vicinity sang around them, hinting at the coming spring despite the snow.

Yoichi finally sighed, breaking the silence. "You know, I'm the one you should hate."

His comment confused Izaya. "Why? You were not involved in any of this."

"But their blood runs in my veins. It was my mother who taught me to hate your kind."

"Blood does not define a person," Izaya replied. "From what I can see now, you did not listen to her."

The samurai laughed darkly. "I'm not that shallow. Besides, she went mad in the end. I knew it was foolish to listen to anything she had to say to me." He sighed. "You know, I am truly one without a place to go. You and Tsugaru have a home to return to. You should not be here."

"Tsugaru told me he owed a favor, and that the others would not accept him since his father was foreign," Izaya replied, shrugging.

"I do not believe 'favors' should be repaid like this," Yoichi spat. "But the second part holds true. Humans are afraid of each other, especially the ones with power."

"I still cannot picture it...," Izaya muttered.

Yoichi laughed bitterly. "That humans can hate each other so much? It should not be hard, with the way they react to your kind."

"Yeah, but that's..."

"There's no difference," Yoichi told him. "That's what humans are." He shook his head. "I myself cannot fathom how you can find us so interesting. We're a simple, savage species."

Izaya frowned. "Same to you. I do not understand how you could hate your own kind so easily."

"What's there to love? It was not demons who killed my father. It was not demons that drove the lot of us up here into this desolated wasteland, waiting to be slaughtered."

"I still cannot see how you can hate all humans," Izaya replied, still not convinced.

"Give me one good example."

"You're friends with Tsugaru. Enough that the fact I'm together with him kept you from setting a town on me."

Yoichi stared at him blankly for a moment before bursting into laughter.

"Hey! What's so funny about that?" Izaya asked, feeling the heat rising up to his ears. "I was being serious!"

"Y-you really are a demon." He had to pause to catch his breath, chuckling as he managed to finally take a deep breath. "Your logic holds true. You have a pure mind, incapable of being controlled by power."

"What has power got to do with anything?"

"Power is what corrupts humans," he explained. "You'll see eventually. Give someone a little more than they already have, and they'll start wanting more. It will take them just as an illness would, until it corrupts them and shapes them into monsters."

Izaya shrugged. "I have not yet seen any monsters, only an irrational fear of the unknown."

"Yes, we fear. We feed off of it to keep us alive, and it makes us do things we regret. Yet, we still continue onward with our wretched lives."

"I think it's admirable."

This caught Yoichi by surprise. "Really? How so?"

"To live out your life so fully even when you know just have fragile it is."

"Hah! I see we have a true poet!"

"You're the one going on about fear and power," Izaya muttered, feeling the heat rise up to his ears again. He was not accustomed to such compliments.

"I just find it fascinating how you can control it so well. If a human were in your shoes, he would've used it to take over Japan by now."

"I have no need of a country," the demon prince replied.

.

The three of them set their cups down before starting on their dinner: fish caught by the local boats, a delicacy these days in the city. Izaya had been eyeing the shop for ages since he smelled it, and Tsugaru finally saved up enough to bring him. The two of them happened to run into Yoichi on the way there and dragged him along with them to the restaurant.

"You are lucky my wallet has not seen the sun much this past month," Yoichi had exaggerated.

"Once in a while is good for your health," Tsugaru answered. "You've been stressed lately, haven't you?"

"Where did you get that idea?" Yoichi asked, grinning. "I'm always happy as can be."

"Izaya told me." He took a long sip of tea before setting it down beside the sake cup. "I'm glad the two of you made it back without any problems."

"Ah, sorry," Yoichi muttered to Izaya.

"He didn't scold me too much," the demon replied. Tsugaru had also saw the change throughout the city, and to be honest, Izaya's walks worried him. The men were much too restless to overlook the demon now, even though Izaya had lived among them for so many months. One wrong slip might just send the entire city after him, and Tsugaru refused to take any chances on his love's safety. The dinner continued on peacefully until they went through a few more sake cups. Tsugaru noted to make sure not to let Izaya get drunk enough to throw his hat off in the middle of the street on the way home.

"So any news about our impending deaths?" Yoichi broke the calm first, his face a little red.

"You know better than to word it that way," Tsugaru muttered, eyeing the doorway. He had tried to get them a private room far away from the rest of the patrons, but he wanted to be extra careful.

"Sorry," his friend replied. "This place is pretty good! What do you think, Izaya?"

"Delicious," the demon nearly choked, prompting Tsugaru to chuckle and hand him the water.

"Take your time. We're not in a rush today."

Izaya thankfully gulped the water down to clear his throat. He sighed, setting the cup aside as he continued eating, albeit making sure to eat slower now. "I'm surprised humans can can cook so well."

"What do you usually eat?" Yoichi asked him, pointing a pair of chopsticks at the other.

"Eh, the usual," Izaya replied. "We just don't get too much fish, because you know..." He took another bite and made sure to swallow before he continued. "It's not like we have any boats to go into the ocean or anything."

"The usual, huh?"

Izaya seemed to catch on to what Yoichi was thinking. "For your information, we cook our food. I have pretty high quality taste buds, you know."

The three of them burst into laughter.

"Izaya's cooking is very good," Tsugaru commented when he caught his breath, a soft smile gracing his features as Izaya turned red.

"I-It's..." the demon began to object.

Yoichi grinned. "I'm sure it is."

"I like Tsugaru's cooking too! It's always a treat whenever he has time to make me something."

"Eh?" Yoichi looked over to Tsugaru, who was now turning a little red himself.

"It's the alcohol," the samurai tried to defend himself.

"Whoever cooked this must have been doing it for many years. Definitely a local who's lived here all his or her life," Izaya concluded, nodding as he finished off his sake. "He doesn't like the fact that there's a bunch of soldiers here, but he's too proud of his craft to make anything less."

"I think you're reading too much into the food..."

Izaya grinned. "Hey, it's my hobby to read too much into humans."

The three of them enjoyed the rest of the night, reveling freely for once after so many months caught under the shadow of death at their doorstep. They finally bid Yoichi a goodnight and headed back to their lodgings when Izaya decided to stop atop one of the many bridges in the city. The melted river flowed gently below them, reflecting off the full moon above.

"Where will you go after all this?" he asked Tsugaru, who joined him in watching the stream flow below them.

"I wanted to ask the same of you," the samurai replied, his voice just low enough for Izaya to hear.

"Don't you have that duty thing to take care?"

Tsugaru frowned, sadness reflected off his calm ocean eyes. "You know what is to happen when the ships arrive."

"You know you're not allowed to die for them, right?" Izaya said, although his voice faltered just the slightest. He had hoped to exert a more confident facade, but to be honest, he wasn't sure what Tsugaru thought on the entire matter.

Tsugaru contemplated the other for a moment. "After this, I had hoped to follow you wherever you go."

Izaya perked up, a grin spreading around his face. "You mean we can go back East?"

The samurai smiled at his lover's sudden change in mood. "If that is what you wish to do."

The demon thought it over for a moment, mulling over the many possibilities. "Yoichi said the new government may not take kindly to you."

"I'm used to it."

"You'll have to let me protect you, then."

Tsugaru frowned. "You know I cannot let you do that. It should be the other way around."

"But I'm stronger," Izaya reasoned.

Tsugaru chuckled, wrapping his arms around him. "Do not worry about me. My life belongs to you."

The two stood in silence for a while, watching the reflection of the moon on the river sway softly as the water moved downstream into the direction of the ocean.

"No dying up here then, okay?" Izaya asked one last time just to make sure.

The arms around him tightened. "I promise. Not here."

* * *

><p>Thank you so much for your warm welcome back T_T I'm so touched! I read some of your reviews during a pretty busy day at work and they totally brightened my day. *hugs* ありがとう！<p>

And always, thanks for reading!


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